


Peach and Daisy - Mind and Matter

by Antares10



Series: The Game of Our Life [3]
Category: Homestuck, Super Mario & Related Fandoms
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Daisy is awesome, Dreambubbles, Everybody has their own drama, Friendship, Gen, I promise, It will be all fine at the end, Mario-Homestuck-Fusion, Peach is awesome, Sburb is NOT a nice game, Temporary Character Death, dealing with FEELINGS, dealing with the past, happy end, lots of issues in the past, lots of talking, mentions of past dimentions, resposibility, the adventures of Peach and Daisy in the game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-09
Updated: 2015-08-20
Packaged: 2018-04-13 19:24:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4534233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antares10/pseuds/Antares10
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So, what were Peach and Daisy up to in the game? </p>
<p>Peach is a princess, not a queen and there are reasons for that. </p>
<p>Daisy is a princess but she really, really doesn't like it.</p>
<p>There was no way in the Underwhere that they would let their friends go alone into this game. And this is their story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this is it, the secound story which should explain Peaches and Daisys side of what happend in "Mario and Luigi - Stuck in Dreams and Nightmares"
> 
> Many, many, MANY thanks at Panir who was again the best beta and motivation.
> 
> I wish all of you a good time with this.

 

“ _Oh, look! A shooting star! You know you got a wish, right? What do you wish for?”_

 

“ _I wish... uh... to be able to help aaaaaall people here! To be able to make them happy!”_

 

“ _That is a very big wish.”_

 

“ _Uhuuuu. But it's important.”_

 

“ _I see. Do you know what a person who cares about her people is called?”_

 

“ _No. What?”_

 

“ _A princess.”_

 

“ _Huh? Really?”_

 

“ _Yes_ _, little one._ _”_

 

“ _But... that isn't what my book says what a princess is.”_

 

“ _Some things aren't in books. We all play our game, little one. Don't forget that.”_

 

“ _I will not. Promise.”_

 

 

  
Peach woke from her slumber, frowning. It  had been a long time since she  had last dreamed about this. Or of her mother for that matter. Still frowning she looked up, at the ceiling of her royal bedroom. She could almost believe that the white wallpaper was staring back at her. 

  
It has been years since the game of her mother, the queen of the Mushroom kingdom, ended and all memories of her are fuzzy at best. But they were a kind Toad, caring , and they knew stories like no one else and the stories stayed with Peach up until this day.

  
(She still couldn't fully think of her mother as “she”. Toads didn't have genders like humans, even if some of them preferred male or female  pronouns. Peach didn't FULLY understand, but she was raised by Toads and the queen called themselves “Mother” more for Peaches sake than any other reasons. There were times Peach herself found it hard to think about herself as “she” and not of one of the thousands of genders Toads had. She preferred to think about herself as “pink”, a very suitable Toad gender for her in her opinion.) 

  
The queen told her many legends about the stars which protected the kingdom,  the ones that granted wishes and of course, the  star children . Besides these legends, her stories often involved some kind of bigger picture about o ne’s game and the place each person  had in said game.

  
'We all play our game' was what they said very often. More often when they had been  forced to make decisions they didn't like. And she heard them often say this very words to Toadsworth. 

  
They were even their last words. When their game ended, they smiled and told her  those very words. 

  
The Mushroom Kingdom  had not had a queen since then. And there were reasons for that.

  
The first thing everyone knew and noticed about Peach, was that she really, really cared for her kingdom. Even in young years she had a knack for knowing what her people needed and what not.

  
That was the reason why she still called herself “princess” and not queen. A queen was the sole ruler. A queen would demand. A queen would distance herself from her people. How often had she felt alone when young; how often was it only her mother and herself and nobody else? Now, a lot older, she knew that her mother had isolated themselves and Peach from their people, living the facade of an ideal of a ruler and blocking any other sight of her.

  
She wouldn't, but she knew the Toads would think so should she also take up the title of the queen.  Peach’s mother had been queen for a long, long time, enough that her name and the title queen became interchangeable and so unfit for Peach, who  was a different person. So she didn't take the title of a queen but stayed a princess.

  
The title princess wouldn't sound so demanding, so absolute. A princess was there for her people, a public figure, with flaws and all. A princess would give advice and guiding, but no orders. Even if she didn't, this is what her people connected with the word “princess”.

  
So she still called herself princess. Because her people needed a  princess , not a queen. 

  
And for the longest time, it worked like a charm. The Toads were happy, the land prospered.

  
And then Bowser happened. Starting war, kidnap ping her and she didn't want to think about what would have happened  if it hadn’t been it not for Mario and Luigi. 

  
Mario and Luigi, two of her best friends in the world. Two of the startlingly small number of humans in her kingdom and two of the few people her mother or Toadsworth allowed her to have contact with. Even if Peach herself didn't quite think of herself as human, it was  obvious that she wasn't a Toad. And it was just nice to have friends who understand. Especially Mario, who would go out of his way to make her happy. 

  
Sometimes she felt bad about that. Sometimes she was afraid that because of her, her dear friend would meet with a terrible fate. Sometimes she was worried about him, always running head-first into danger, always helping everybody. Peach sometimes feared that he would one day loose himself, just giving and giving until nothing of him remains.

  
That was why she would call for him and his brother whenever she could for other things. To go on vacation, to hear news from other people. So they could hear good news, so they could spend time not fighting some evil but relaxing and having fun.

  
That her latest excursion  ended like it did was a bit depressing. It  had sounded so perfect, a vacation to a n island that promised fun and good sleep.  
Instead there  had been an ancient evil that had to be stopped, Bowser who nearly destroyed everything and poor Luigi who had to be the doorway to the land of dreams. 

  
They had a  few good days after this mess, but she could see by the rings that became darker and darker around  Mario’s and Luigi’s eyes that the whole adventure  hadn’t gone by so easily. She could only imagine what consequences  would arise from people, not only Mario or herself, wandering around in  Luigi’s dreams, changing things and witnessing things at the very core of his mind. And then there was Starlow, and even if she meant well, she was a bit harsh to Luigi at times. 

  
(A thing she never quite understood and she felt horribly guilty for not saying anything when she witnessed it. It always did seem like a joke or a bit teasing, but one time she saw the HURT in  Luigi’s eyes and she  would have a WORD with Starlow as soon as she saw her again. Even if she didn't know, that was no way to treat a friend!)

  
Pondering what she could do, Peach finally left her bed, slowly walking to her closet. The formal  garb of her kingdom gave her more freedom than she took. She really liked the color pink, (and she liked expressing what she felt she was) even if she knew that it was also a thing people expected from her. Sometimes even the brightest pink looked faded out for her.

  
Shaking her head and telling herself to stop  these fruitless thoughts she made her way down the stairs. The post was already delivered, a neat stack of letters. One of them looked interesting and after a quick read she smiled a bit, finding something to not only  brighten her day, but  the one of her dear friends at the same time.

  
That was why she called Mario and Luigi to hear about the news Professor Gadd brought with him. That was why she later considered allowing them play the game. She just wanted for her friends to have some nice memories, to have some relaxation and fun.

 

She couldn't have known what would happened.

 

 

 

“ _Who is that?”_

 

“ _That? Oh, that's Princess Daisy. You know, the silly Peach-Knockoff. Not much of a princess, I tell you, always away at parties and sport things and so on. Not even Bowser would kidnap her.”_

 

“ _Uh, I think I remember her! Wasn't she kidnapped that one time by that alien-thing?”_

 

“ _Yeah. Mario rescued her. I think that was the only time she was involved in something that mattered. She doesn't really DO anything_ _,_ _and even when she does_ _,_ _it's just boring! Just a celebrity dizz for the paparazzi to get a quick coin from.”_

 

Daisy opened her eyes and starred straight up, her breath still a bit too quick as she felt anger raging through her. How DARE they?  
  
Well, “they” didn't really exist, it was all a dream. Well, a nightmare. She really, really hated that one. Because it always hit a BIT to close to home.

  
Sighin g, she left her bed, preparing to begin a new day. 

  
Sarasaland was always very dry, most of it a desert, but the royal castle was located in the biggest city of the land, near a giant oasis. Beautiful flowers were in full bloom the whole year and Daisy could always look  over the royal garden from her room. The King and the Queen were very popular rulers of the land and there weren't a lot of problems, most of them involving tax and  agricultural topics. So Daisy often  found herself with a lot of time at hand. 

  
She left her room and walked to the big swimming pool inside the  castle , changing into her swimsuit and jumped into the fresh water. Under water it was always like  another world. Sound and sight were so much different. 

  
She pushed herself from the pool wall,  began to move her arms and legs.  Forward. Then upward. She broke the surface,  took a deep breath and swam forward, the other side of the pool coming near fast. Inside her head she counted her time. Twenty-one, twenty-two,  tw enty-three and she was there,  grabbing the rim of the pool.

  
Not quite her best time for the length of the pool, but better than her worst. She turned,  began to swim the way back, feeling strangely happy whenever she felt how she moved through the water, how she moved the wet masses and pushed herself forward, whenever she felt her muscles work and DOING something. 

  
The thing was, she was bored. Very, very bored. Her best friend Peach  hadn't held a party, a ball, a sports-event or anything in ages and she was waiting for a letter from her good friend Luigi since a week. 

  
She really, really wished the Mushroom Kingdom would finally get some connection to the web or some more electronic devices common in her land. Unfortunately, the Toads were very suspicious of electricity and anything new. Professor Gadd was the only inhabitant she knew of who used advanced technology in the Mushroom Kingdom and even he had  to do quite some tinkering to even get electricity where his lab was located at the moment. Luigi often wrote full of wonder of the inventions of the good professor and seemed to  be adapt in using some of them, but even he was a bit puzzled about Daisy's tales about the technology of Sarasaland. And Peach did own a few very advanced things, the most prominent her plane, but all of that were gifts from other kingdoms and lands. Daisy could count the times Peach used her gifts on one hand. 

  
It was just frustrating, writing letters by hand, waiting for a Parakoopa to pick up the letter and deliver it to her dear friends and waiting for days for a reply. So much time wasted on being ineffective.

  
Maybe she should visit them again. Even if nothing was scheduled for quite some time, she could always just visit her friends, right? Water was all around her and the world oddly silent as she made her way underwater back to the other side of the pool. Yes, that was a good idea. She would just look if a letter was here today and would visit them again. Peach would be delighted, surely.

  
She didn't know long she swam. But as she finally pulled herself out of the water her arms felt like lead and her heart was racing. She smiled a bit through the exhaustion. And she still smiled as she saw a letter with a green seal on her desk as she came back to her roo m, right next to her phone.

  
She was so happy so see the letter that she almost didn't notice the meteor that was on  its way to the Flower Kingdom.

 

 

**Status Update Daisy:** Srsly in need for some air to breath around here. But got a letter from M.K, hope it's from Sweety <3

 

** NEW ** **UPDATER: Peach joined.**

**Status Update Peach:** Test.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Toadsworth would be so mad, Peach thought, but she couldn't help but smile. What her oldest advisor just couldn't understand was just how much she wanted to help her kingdom and her friends. There was no chance in the Underwhere that she would let Mario and Luigi go into this mess alone.   


So she talked to the professor, got everything she needed, even a Gameboy Horror (one with this strange new function that let them write messages to each other) and to her surprise there was already a message for her.  


**Daisy:** _Huuhuuu, Peach. Finally you get some tech in your kingdom. ;) Just a question: Is there some craziness going on over there at your kingdom, too?  
_

 

**Peach:** _Hello, Daisy. I am not surprised about you already being adept with this strange technology. But I am happy hearing form you. As for “Craziness”... you could say it like that._

 

Their story was told quickly. A plan was made just as fast.  


Around the time Mario and Luigi entered the medium, Peach’s castle and Daisy’s home disappeared, too.

 

 

**Status update Daisy:** Started some crazy stuff. But Peachy is with me, so all will be good _._

**Status update Peach:** I hope this wasn't a mistake.

 

 

The Land of Cake and Clockwork was, to put it simply, delightful. The clouds looked like cotton candy, the ground a bit like various types of frosting and the flora like all sorts of baked goods. The only fauna Peach could see were little bright blue dragonflies, which were flying so fast she had trouble following them with her eyes.  


The strangeness came with the “clockwork” portion of the name. There were no real animals around here, just mechanical things, a bit like robots. They were friendly enough, but their blank eyes and faces didn't even give the impression of emotions in them. As for the inhabitants of this planet, they were also robots.  


It was kind of depressing watching them, Peach thought. They were doing anything mechanical, practical, but without any of the spark that spoke of life. Normally Peach loved watching people, her Toads working together or just living and the business that came with life. But this? This was a mockery of the beloved sight. This was just a mass of metal, doing task A and then B.  


As she wandered a bit around the strange new world, one thing struck her eye. The huts and houses of the robots were simple and made out of the baked things around them. But there was one big building that looked massive, like a temple of some sorts, made out of metal. Silver, gold, blue and black and even some moving parts around it. It was in quite some distance, but Peach had a feeling that this thing was important, being so different from anything else around here.  


The unfortunately prototyped Yoshisprite beside her gave her its agreement, before attempting to eat some of the cupcake-Flowers in front of it. (It failed) Peach sighed. It was going to be a loooong day.  


She took her Game Boy Horror (or phone as Daisy kept called it) out of the little bag she carried (She had replaced her dress with an outfit fit for outdoor sport events. She wouldn't make the mistake of going on an adventure in a fine dress again.) and looked at it.   


Daisy had told her to post “Updates” so that she could see what she did. Peach found it still a bit strange to communicate with this thing, but she couldn't deny that this technology was very handy.

 

 

**Status Update Peach:** My planet is delightful. The rest... not so much.

 

**Daisy:** _Delightful, huh? :)_

**Peach** _: Yes, it is pretty. Only my companions are a bit... strange._

**Daisy:** _Yeah, mine too. Nice fellas but seem a bit not_ _fully_ _here. Do you see your gates?_

**Peach:** _Yes, but I do not think I am supposed to enter them yet. I will explore this land a bit. I see a bigger village ahead. Talk to you later?_

**Daisy:** _Talk to you later, ;)_

 

 

One good thing about her planet was, that there was tea to come by (strangely enough, but she wouldn't complain). Peach just needed a good, hot cub of tea to calm her nerves... and doing what she could do best: gather information.  


She hadn’t had much time before entering the game. She just deployed everything Daisy needed in her castle, freeing her kernel, watching kind of helplessly as the ground shook and the elderly Yoshi who was visiting was knocked into it, forming her sprite, before gaining her first item to enter the medium (a pink crown she had to smash).   


So, she thought that now was the best time to speak with her new companion.  


“So, you are a game-construct, now?”, she asked. “I'm still very sorry that this has happened to you...”  


“Oh, don't worry about it.”, said Yoshisprite. “My game was coming to an end, anyways. That was the whole reason why I came to your kingdom. I wanted to see my little star children again before I go to the Overthere.”  


“Your little star children?”, asked Peach. “You mean...”  


“Yes, yes. You were all only babies back then but maybe you remember bits of our adventures.”, said the Yoshisprite, smiling longingly. “I remember it very well... a little baby fell out of the sky, onto my back and even if he couldn't walk, couldn't even speak, he communicated well what had happened. Someone took his brother and he had to find him, even had the ability to sense him... is that a trait every human shares?”  


“Huh?”, said Peach, thinking for a bit. She never really thought about that, but Mario and Luigi always seemed to know where the other was. “No, it's just them... well, they are twins, there are legends that those born at the same time have such ability.”  


Yoshisprite nodded.  


“Ah, well. I was always curious about that, you know? Well, anyway, there he was, completely set on rescuing his lost brother. My tribe and I just couldn't let him go alone, so we helped him. And found all of you. It's so good to see you all so grown up. So, tell me please, how are you all?”  


Peach blinked at this, but smiled.  


“Oh, we are all good, I think... well, I am good, Donkey Kong and Wario had gone off to do their own thing and I haven't seen both of them for quite a while. And you have surely heard about Mario. He has become a true hero.”  


“Ah, it's so good to hear that. What about his brother he was searching?”  


“Luigi. He... he had gone through some bad times, but the last years were better for him.”, she told him, not with a bit of regret in her voice. Looking back even she didn't always remembered his name, even if she knew him since they were children. “But he is a hero in his own right and did a lot for my people. Mario is still pretty protective about him, though.”  


“Ah, I think some traits will never change.”, said Yoshisprite chuckling. “Even as a baby, he was really set-on to find his lost twin... there was a lot of love in such a small body... And we were so happy when we finally found Luigi. Such a sweet boy. I couldn't get to know him very well in the short time, but he was really cute, fell asleep as soon as Mario was with him on my back.  


I regret that he had to go through such hardships, but as long as he is happy now, I can rest in peace. And help you with your quest. I have to say, I will not be the best assistance. The game doesn't let me spoil too much, but I will help you as best as I can.”  


Peach smiled, relieved to find an opening to change the subject.

  
“Thank you very much. I want to ask, what can you tell me about our titles and aspects?”  


“Not a whole much, some you have to find out on your own. But I can tell you, that you are the Mage of Mind, dear Peach. A powerful title.”  


“What does it mean?”, Peach asked.  


“Well, a Mage is a rather offensive class.”, said Yoshisprite. “A Mage is someone who can manipulate his or her aspect, but can in return be manipulated by his or her aspect.”  


“To manipulate and to be manipulated?”, asked Peach thoughtful. “That sounds... like a contradiction in itself.”  


“It is. The Mage is unfortunately a bit stricken with that.”, said Yoshispirte. “You will have to be quite careful with what you do with your powers. And since you are the Hero of Mind, you will have to be much more careful.”  


“What exactly does “Hero of Mind” mean?”, asked Peach. “Is my aspect the literal mind?”  


“Well, that is ONE interpretation.”, said Yoshisprite thoughtfully, the pink translucent tail of his waggling as he thought. “The aspect of Mind is like a counterpoint to the aspect of Heart. Heart players deal with emotions, souls and the own self. Mind player deal with ideas, visions and the selves and decisions of others.”  


“So... the Mind aspect has something to do with decisions....”, said Peach sighing. “It isn't as if I hadn't already made some hard ones.”  


“Yes, but they were YOUR decisions. The aspect of Mind includes OTHER decisions.”  


A silence followed, where Peach tried to take everything in. She didn't know how to feel about something like that.

She always had had responsibility, decisions were hers to make, but they were hers alone. She didn't like how they could affect other people. To deal – manipulate – the decisions of other people? It didn't sit well with her.  


“Princess? Is everything okay?”, asked Yoshisprite after a few minutes.  


“Yes, yes, excuse me.”, said Peach, a bit sheepish after being caught so deep in thought. “I... I have to think about all of this.”  


“It will become clearer to you when you come along in your quest. Don't worry, you are a bright girl, you always were. I'm sure you will do all of us proud.”  


Peach didn't know why these words just didn't cheer her up.

 

 

**Status Update Peach:** I am the Mage of Mind.

**Status Update Daisy:** I'm the Rouge of Space. Yes, Baby

 

 

Daisy looked at her kernel skeptically. She had prototyped pre-Medium a Goomba and a Para-Koopa (it was half-accident, half intended.) but the result was... well... underwhelming.  


“You realize that this is maybe the stupidest thing you could have done! I mean, what AM I now? A Koomba? A Goopa? A Para-something?”  


“Hey, I already said that I didn't intend this! And you SHOULD see it that way: Your game had ended as this little meteor hit the garden and you just gained an extra-one! Better than a trip to the Overthere or Underwhere, isn't it?”  


Her yellow colored sprite (Koombasprite?) just grumbled at that but didn't say anything anymore. Daisy was just a BIT annoyed with them. She hadn't really known them very well, they were both just working at the garden and she saw them near the end of their game as she searched for a save place to enter the medium. At first it didn't look like a big problem but then they entered the medium and well... it was kind of downhill from there.  


“Shouldn't you be some sort of guide for me?”, Daisy asked, trying to focus them on the problem on hand.  


“Well, I THINK but it's a bit difficult to think when I am distracted and in a deep personal identity crisis.”  


Daisy sighed. “Look, I know it maybe wasn't the BEST of my ideas but I had to do something. Come on, it can't be ALL bad, can it?”  


The Koombasprite looked as if it considered this.  


“Well, our game COULD be ended... so... yeah, this is true.”  


Daisy sighed. “I was just telling you... argh, never mind. So. Guiding? Do you know anything about what happens next?”  


“Well...”, the sprite begun, seemingly more pleasant to be in the guide-role. “Okay, I can give you a few things. Not all of them, because you have still things to find out on your own. Well, you are the Rogue of Space.”  


“Rogue of Space? What is that supposed to mean?”  


“Well, the Rogue is more of a passive class...”  


“Oh darn.”, said Daisy. “I really hoped for something offensive? I am so sick of sitting on the sidelines...”  


“Just because a class is passive doesn't mean you will be passive.”, said the Sprite and Daisy looked at him slightly confused.   


“What?”  


“It is a passive class but not passive in play. The Rogue is someone who steals his aspect from others for the benefit of others. In your case, Space.”  


“Stealer of space? How is that supposed to work?”  


“That is one of the things you have to find out. The Space player is a mandatory aspect to win the game. Space and Time is the minimum required to even start one.”  


“Space and Time, huh?”, mumbled Daisy. “I wonder if Peach is the Time player?”  


“No, she is not.”, Koombasprite said casually. “She is the Mage of Mind. Powerful combination but also with a lot of problems. No, one of the others is the Time player. There can't be both Time and Space existing on Derse or Prospit.”  


“Okay, now you lost me.”, sighed Daisy. “What for the love of radish is Derse and Prospit?”  


“They are moons!”, the Sprite said. “Don't you know anything?”  


“Hey, I know a LOT of things! I just don't know very much about this game. Isn't that YOUR job? Knowing stuff and TELL it?”  


“Well... yeah... but.”  


“Prospit? Derse?”  


“Oh, you are impossible.”, the Sprite mumbled. “Okay, okay. There exist two nations that are at war. Skaia is the battlefield. And the white nation is located on the moon Prospit and the black one on Derse. They are quite similar but different. The thing is, the black nation, Derse, is winning and the player have to help Prospit win.”  


“Wait a moment, you said something about there being Derse and Prospit Players?”  


“Well, your dream-selves are located on either Derse or Prospit and that influences your abilities. Prospit dreamers can see visions of the future, past, present, should-be, would-be and could-be of the world. But Derse dreamers are able to see into the outer ring of the universe, see the things beyond, even into the dream bubbles and are often more able to travel through dreams.”  


Daisy blinked.  


“Okay, and I am what? A... Prospit dreamer?”  


“You and Peach are. The other two...”  


“Luigi and Mario!”  


“Yes, the two men. They are Derse dreamers. Their path will have twists and turns in dreams, yours and Peaches in visions.”  


“Okay...?”  


Daisy sighed. It wasn't that it sounded too ridiculous, but it was a bit annoying to think that there was barely any logic in... well... everything.  


“Okay, Prospit and Derse. One of the brothers is the Time player. Got it. Now, what should I do?”  


“Select your strifespecibus.”, Koombasprite said. “I mean, it would be useful. That is how you fight. But, well, be careful, the game only allows one strifespecibus per person.”  


“Only one? Why?”  


“I don't make the rules.” Koombasprite said, seemingly miffed. Daisy thought that that was maybe because they didn't know either.  


“Okay, okay. What should I choose...”, she pondered. She was trained in some sort of martial arts. Her parents, after hearing that Peach was targeted again and again in kidnappings, decided that the heir to the throne should be able to defend herself. It was a great idea, if only they would let her DO something with that instead of insisting to never use this skill in a real battle.  
There was ONE thing she knew how to deal damage with it, even if it wasn't really intended for that...  


“A racket.”, she said. “I choose my racket. I can swing this baby pretty fast and if I get a ball to go with it nobody wants to mess with me.”  


“... a racket.”, said Koombasprite. “You just WANT for all our games to end, huh?”  


“Hey, have a little faith in me!”  


Koombasprite looked not much like they would do so a whole lot but said nothing about the issue anymore. Daisy sighed. Well, if worse came to worse, she still could deal a good blow with her fist and legs.   


The first Imp she encountered didn't know what hit it as the racket dented his head in quickly. Daisy blinked confused as the enemy exploded in Gist and other things (some sort of water and jewels?) but collected them all as well.

 

 

**Status Update Daisy:** Imps are pretty annoying.

**Status Update Peach:** The tea is quite good.


	3. Chapter 3

“What is that building?”, Peach asked Yoshisprite as they left the village and strolled around the cake-forest, the strange metal temple Peach saw earlier in front of her. No dragonflies were to be seen around it, which was strange considering they were EVERYWHERE else on this planet.  
  


“That is the temple of Logos, the denizen of this planet.”  
  


“Denizen?”, Peach asked confused.  
  


“Yes. Every planet has them. Powerful, mighty god-like creatures in charge of the planet and core-problem. Logos created the clockwork-people of this realm, but gave them only logic, no purpose, no desire, no soul. It's your quest to give them a mind of their own.”, explained Yoshisprite.  
  


“A mind?”, she asked, looking back at the village of robots. “I think that would... be difficult...”  
  


“It is.”, Yoshisprite said. “I will try to help you but I can't do much. I'm sorry.”

  
“Don't be, you told me that the game wouldn't let you.”, Peach said. She sighed at the look of the temple. “I have a feeling that the denizen itself won’t be as helpful as you.”

 

 

**Status Update Peach:** I have a bad feeling.

**Status Update Daisy:** Flowers and Frogs. Really?

 

 

Her planet was called “Land of Flowers and Frogs” and Daisy thought that it couldn't have a better name. Everything was blooming, the whole planet seemed to be a giant tropical island. Water and sand made up the majority of the ground, but flowers were blossoming everywhere, even the Trees seemed like giant flowers.

And there were frogs. Frogs EVERYWHERE.  
  


Daisy was quite irritated at first. Even her companions were frogs, even if they were a bit more intelligent.  
  


They lived in huts made out of living plants, grouped to little villages all over the place. She visited a few but the language of the frogs was nothing she had ever heard. Most of them seemed a bit slow and didn't even seem to register that she was there, but she listened to them whenever they spoke.  
  


A lot of what she heard didn't make any sense. Most of the time it was some rambling about colors or notes, about sunny weather and rain, about flowers and butterflies.  
  


But it was kind of fun. Learning and seeing new things.  
  


She really wished she could do that more. Exploring and have an adventure. It was kind of exciting to be in on one of these with the others. Well, not quite, she was on her own for now, but if Koomba-Sprite was right she would meet the others soon enough.  
  


She made her way out of the village, curious about what was beyond the little hill and the big, tree-like flowers. The ground under her feet was still sand, colored in all colors of the rainbow. Even the sky was colored slightly in pastel hues of color. All in all it looked a bit like the dreamworld Luigi described to her one time. Slightly surreal but beautiful and colorful.  
  


She couldn't help herself and whooped with joy.  
  


“Come on, Koomba-Sprite! Race you to the top of the hill!”, she cried, running before the bright yellow sprite could protest.  
  


She ran, sand was flying up behind her and around her. Colors swirling around, flowers were bending out of her way as she ascended to the little hill.  
  


And as she stood on the top, she laughed and yelled because she just felt so FREE. No one to say what she had to do and what not. She was free.

“Uh... Daisy? What are you doing?”, asked Koombasprite, finally catching up to her.  
  


“Enjoying freedom.”, she said, still grinning. “This is so great!”  
  


Koombasprite looked at her, still not impressed.  
  


“Uh, hello? Shouldn't you be on a quest?”  
  


“Quest? Which quest?”, Daisy asked.  
  


“Uh... THE Quest? Wake up the frogs from their stupid dream-world so they can do something productive, facing your denizen, reaching God Tier, create the new genesis frog, slay the Black King, create a new universe? Does this ring any bell?”  
  


Daisy blinked at them, her eyes going wide.  
  


“Wait, WHAT?”

 

 

**Status Update Daisy:** WHAT THE EVERLOVING STARROAD?

 

Peach was sitting in the shadow of a particular pretty tree made out of cake and frosting, looking at the text Daisy sent her rapidly.  
  


**Daisy:** _And THEN they told me I had to create a FROG which will somehow be the new universe and I have to do it with some really messed up machines, srsly the prof would be exited about this stuff around here!_

**Daisy:** _And there is this freaky Frog-temple around here and even if it looks kinda pretty I am srsly creeped out._

**Daisy:** _It just looks... bad and stuff._

**Peach:** _I am sure you will be fine, Daisy. I have a temple here as well, but it lacks the frog._

**Daisy:** _Well, my planet IS named “Land of Frogs and Flowers”._  
  


Peach sighed. She wasn't as experienced in adventuring like Mario, but she knew that multiple temples just spelled trouble for them.  
  


**Peach:** _I have another question. I heard a few times that we player should ascend to God Tier to unlock our full power and have a better chance at winning the game. Did you find out how to do that?_

**Daisy:** _No clue, Peachy, but I am sure we will know when the time comes. Don't worry._  
  


Peach really wished she could do that.

 

 

Days went by almost unnoticed. Peach found some minor quests to do while still trying to find out what they had to do to win. How to reach God Tier still was a mystery for her. She found her second gate, which transported her to Daisy’s planet, but unfortunately, there wasn't much time to chat, seeing that Daisy was also quite involved in one quest or another.  
  


The strange temple of Logos still intrigued Peach, but she never had found a way inside until now, even Yoshisprite couldn't help her with that.  
  


She sat outside the village (which still creeped her out a bit) as she heard the voice for the first time.

 

**So, the mage is a little princess this time. Come and face me. If you dare.**

 

“W...what?”, she asked, looking around her but not seeing anybody.  
  


“Is everything okay, princess?”, Yoshisprite asked.  
  


“I... I head something...”  
  


“Was it a voice?”  
  


“How did you...”  
  


“The game, remember?”, the sprite said, a bit smiling. “I am a construct, I have knowledge.”  
  


“So... who... what was that?”  
  


“Surely Logos, the Clockwork-mind. I think he summons you to his temple. You should hurry.”  
  


Peach did.

 

 

**Status Update Peach:** I am worried.

**Status Update Daisy:** I'm exited!

 

 

Daisy was exited because she discovered her third gate and that would surely lead her to one of the other planets, like Luigi’s or Mario’s. Neither she nor Peach had any contact to their friends since the game started and she was a little bit desperate to see how they were doing.  
  


Unfortunately, her gate was pretty high above her. And it was kinda above the freaky frog temple.  
  


“Do you just want to stare at it?”, Koombasprite asked her.  
  


Daisy shook her head.  
  


“No, but I kinda have a strange feeling about this... and it is the freaky frog temple here...”  
  


“There is nothing inside besides a time capsule and THAT won’t open for a long time.”, Koombasprite said. “You wasted a lot time already running around doing all sorts of side quests instead of doing the important things.”  
  


“Hey, YOU said I had to be at the top level of my title.”, Daisy said slightly angry. “And these missions were important! AND I got to see Peach’s planet, even if I couldn't see her herself. I really miss her and want to talk to her, but I decided to HURRY UP with things and you still think I am lazy?”  
  


“Why do you even like her so much?”, Koombasprite asked. “She really isn't like you. And I don't know much about her, but she always sounded like a boring ditz.”  
  


“Hey, take that back!”, Daisy cried angrily. “She is one of my best friends and Peach is awesome! Yeah, she likes pink and things considered girly, but she is REALLY nice! AND she is the best princess her land could ever have.”  
  


“Yeah, with her being kidnapped like every other month.”, Koombasprite mumbled.  
  


“This isn't her fault and you know it.”, Daisy argued. “I know her well and she is always worried about her people. She doesn't want to fight a war or for her Toads to get hurt trying to protect her. And there is Mario and Luigi, always willing to help her. And if she really was a bad princess, her country wouldn't be this big and well-off.”, she finished her little speech. “So, shut up about her.”  
  


“Yeah, yeah.”, Koombasprite said. “I get it, you think she is awesome. Still doesn't explain why you want to waste time by talking with her.”  
  


“She is my friend and understands things and sometimes, you have to get a few things off your chest in front of a friend.”, Daisy said. “Nothing of that is wasting time. Besides that, I didn't “waste time” with other stuff, I trained!”  
  


“Yeah, you can smash a petty enemy with a racket.”, Koombasprite said sarcastically. “Really impressive.”  
  


“Oh, shut up.”, Daisy said. “You still hadn't told me about how to become God Tier.”  
  


“I DID tell you, you have to face mortality.”, Koombasprite said.  
  


“Yeah, but you didn't said HOW and WHY! One simply can't just... FACE the end of games.”, Daisy said. “You speak in riddles!”  
  


“Hey, this is what sage-like guides do!”, Koombasprite said. “It's how the game makes me do things.”  
  


Daisy sighed.  
  


“Okay, okay. I understand. Just... Give me a moment, okay?”  
  


Koombasprite gave her a moment. Then they asked her to MOVE ALREADY again.

 

 

**Status Update Daisy:** Okay, here I come...

 

 

Yoshisprite was standing outside of the Temple of Logos, the Clockwork-Mind, waiting for the one he was guiding. He worried a bit about Peach. He saw her doing all these little quests and things and saw her smile and talk in her soft voice with everyone. And he saw the disappointment in her eyes whenever she only got an mechanic answer back from the robots.  
  


It was a bit strange that the denizen would call the player so soon, long before they ascended to God Tier, but it wasn't unheard of.  
  


He saw her leaving the Temple and he felt relief. He flew to her.  
  


“Peach! It's good to see you again!”, he said, smiling. “What did Logos say to you?”  
  


Peach looked at Yoshisprite.  
  


“He told me to make a choice.”, she said, sounding strange and in some sort of shock or trance. Yoshisprite noticed that she didn't even really look at him.  
  


“What choice?”  
  


“He made me an offer: give up and switch places with one of the other players, switching our roles and tasks, so we do each other’s job. Or do my job on my own and pay the price if I can't give the consorts here a mind.”, she told him. “I chose the last one... I... I WANT to do that, but... I...”  
  


“Peach?”, Yoshisprite asked as he saw her fighting something within herself.  
  


“I don't know if that was the right decision.”, she whispered.

 

 

Daisy was kinda disappointed when the third gate just took her to Peach’s planet again. But it turned out to be the best thing ever when she saw Peach in the distance.  
  


“PEACHY!”  
  


Nothing would ever prevent her from rushing to her friend, embracing the startled princess in front of her with all her might. No even Koombasprite.

 

 

**Status Update Daisy:** YEY PEACHY! ^^

 

 

They talked for a while, they laughed, they sat together and drank tea. Peach was smiling but Daisy noticed that something was different with her. Peach’s smiles never seemed so fake in the past.  
  


“Peach? Are you alright?”, she asked, watching as Peach put her tea cup down.  
  


“I am, Daisy, what makes you say otherwise?”, she asked, smiling, but Daisy frowned. It was the same fake smile.  
  


“Peach, don't. You can fake-smile at other people but it won’t work with me, what is wrong?”  
  


Peach looked at her surprised at first. Daisy thought that maybe she really was thinking she could fool her like that. Well, it had been a while since somebody had called her out, probably. But then she sighed, looking at Daisy with a strange, nostalgic look.  
  


“I... learned a bit about my planet and my denizen. I don't know if I can do what he wants.”  
  


“Aww, come on, Peachy.”, Daisy said, smiling. “Whatever it is, I am sure you can do it!”  
  


“It isn't just that.”, Peach said. “It's just... a lot on my mind since this game started... My sprite is the Yoshi that helped Mario and... me and the others when we were babies... I can't remember much, if anything, but talking to him... it brought some memories... and self-reflection is never fun.”, she mumbled.  
  


Daisy blinked. Sure, Peach once told her that she had an adventure with Mario and other babies, but she never knew the full story. And she still felt a bit... hurt and jealous of the bond Peach held with the others, especially with Mario and Luigi. It seemed the three of them were ALWAYS together in on SOMETHING and... well, she wasn't.  
  


“And that got me thinking about... magic.”, Peach said, pulling Daisy out of her own thoughts.  
  


“Huh? Magic?”, she asked.  
  


“Yes. I am the Mage of Mind. A Mage is traditionally someone who uses magic. I am familiar with something like magic from my home...”  
  


“The sleeping spell?”, Daisy asked.  
  


“Yes.”, Peach said. “I don't use it very often, as it tires me quite a bit. But it is magic, basically. But my denizen denies it, saying I have to learn to use the “real” kind of magic. The one where I should blindly believe in magic.”, Peach explained. “And... I don't know if I can do that. I don't have the first clue HOW to.”  
  


“Real magic? Blindly belief in magic?”, Daisy asked, frowning. “That sounds... stupid.”  
  


Peach blinked at that.  
  


“You think so?”  
  


“Yeah,I mean...”, Daisy begun. “You know what they tell you in stories and legends? About Magic? That it exists, but you have to believe it? To have blind faith in it? I never really... liked that, you know? This whole “You just have to believe hard enough” thing. What is even “believing hard enough”? When a thing does a thing I don't believe in things doing things, I KNOW that this thing has done that thing. The blind belief of something has nothing to do with that.

I can maybe understand the whole “believe in good things” thing, like being optimistic about things, but even that doesn't say that things will work out. It just seems like some means to blame someone for failing at a thing. “You didn't believe enough”. It sounds kinda fishy for me.”  
  


Daisy was looking at Peach, waiting for a response. Peach sighed, looked at Daisy.  
  


“You aren't wrong, Daisy. Magic... the kind of magic I can do isn't like that. It doesn't work with belief or without. It's simply... a part of me. It's energy, just like everything else.”, she said. “But here, I am the Mage. I... have a new kind of magic. I don't understand it but I need to...”  
  


“What, because the rust-robot said so?”, Daisy asked. “Forget him. You are awesome as you are now. You don't need some fancy faith-induced stuff to help people.”  
  


And Peach looked at her, smiling a bit.  
  


“You think so?`”  
  


“You bet.”  
  


Peach still smiled but was looking away.  
  


“Unfortunately, I have to find a way to use it.”  
  


“Can't you just... do things without it?”  
  


Peach shook her head.  
  


“Logos was pretty clear on this matter. I think I should train more for it... I don't think I have an unlimited amount of time at hand.”  
  


And with these words she got up, leaving Daisy behind. She didn’t see the frown on Daisy’s face.

 

 

**Status Update Peach:** I have a lot of work to do.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Nothing seemed to work. No talks or smiles or music or any other things her Toads loved when she interacted with them. There was nothing. Only blanc stares and silents.  
  


Peach considered herself a very collected person, but now she felt like crying and screaming all the time.

 

 

It all went wrong two days later.  
  


Peach didn't really remember what exactly happened, but suddenly, there were ogres (high-level, way to powerful for this state of the game and she didn't know HOW) and they could turn themselves invisible and intangible.  


And two black agents were with them and it was just luck that had Daisy seen the attack before it hit them.  
  


What followed was a fight and a brutal one, even when Peach didn't remember all of it. She knew she was swinging her parasol, but as soon as one of the ogre were down, one of the agents would call for new ones. It was just so exhausting. And the agents themselves were nearly untouchable, with them standing in the backlines and watching.  


Without Daisy, she would have been in more trouble than she already was. Daisy could hurl balls with her racket on the ogres, which grew with time. It was a bit amusing to see a ball of the size of a person slam into the ogres, but it couldn't bring them all down.  
  


So Peach made a decision.  
  


She ran forwards, parasol held down, her eyes fixed on one of the ogre. The beast roared, fire was thrown against her, but she used her parasol as a shield, gliding under the ogre, coming to her feet and running straight at one of the agents.  


White eyes were looking at her and her parasol shielded her from a knife aimed at her chest.  


He would pay.  


The agent glared at her, the red diamond symbol on his chest shining like a target. He took out some more knives and threw them at Peach. She managed to duck under them, but felt them flying just over her hair.  
  


A spin and the tip of her parasol hit the shoulder of her opponent. A new knife was evaded just in time and Peach could see the frustration in the eyes of the agent. She focused on his hands. Left or right?  


She chose right, a mighty wack and the sound of something breaking and Peach knew that this hand wouldn't do anything with knives anytime soon. Unfortunately, the agent still could use his left hand.  


And the next knife she couldn't evade.  


After that everything was fuzzy. There was a lot of pain and she remembered red. So, so much red. It was kind of curious, how much blood was in one single person.  
  


She asked herself if this was how Mario felt everytime he lost a life. But there were no One-Ups in this world. She just had one life and then it would be game over for her. She was afraid of her game ending but on the other hand, in this moment, she couldn't quite feel anything, not even fear.  
  


There was some screaming and then space did a hiccup. At least, that was how Peach would describe it. One moment she was on the ground with the agent standing over her, and in the next she was... somewhere else, laying on something hard and cold and green. There was a lot of green around her.  


There was a voice, telling her something, but she couldn't understand and soon after that everything went to black.  
  


Only for the blackness to explode in her face.

 

 

For Daisy, it was the worst five minutes of her life. There was Peach, lying on her quest-bed, at the end of her game. At first, she feared that she did something wrong or that some sort of criterion for ascending wasn't met. Was Peach at the top of her level? Was her Dream-self still alive?  


Had she been here in time?  
  


Yoshisprite and Koombasprite were waiting beside her and both of them looked grim.  


“She... she will come back, won't she?”, Daisy asked, unsure, still staring at Peach. She was lying so still...  


“She should.”, Yoshisprite said. “Ascension works like that...”  


“But do you know for sure?”  
  


“I know what the game lets me know.”  


Daisy bit back a remark and maybe a few tears.  


“Come on, Peach. You are better than that.”, she whispered. “We need you...”  


“You don't actually, you know that, don't you?”, asked Koombasprite.  
  


Daisy turned around, furious, fire in her eyes.  


“WHAT did you say?”  


“Well, it's the truth. You only need a time and a space player to play and to win. Every other aspect is just an extra.”, Koombasprite explained.  


“You CAN'T mean that!”, Daisy shouted. “This is PEACH. Of COURSE we need her! She is my best friend!”  
  


“Well, the game doesn't need Peach OR your best friend. It only needs the two key players...”  
  


“SHUT UP!” Daisy was seething with rage, tears burning in her eyes. “Shut up, shut up, shut up! You... you can't say something like that! We ALWAYS need Peach!”  


“Why?”  


“Because... because, she is Peach! She is the PRINCESS! She is PERFECT and I am not!”  


There was a silence after that. Both sprites were staring at Daisy, who still breathed heavily after her outburst, tears now flowing freely from her eyes.  
  
  
“The game maybe doesn't need her, but... but I do. And Mario and Luigi, too.”, Daisy said, hardly more than a whisper. “She should have been the Space player...”  


“But she isn't.”, Yoshisprite said. “She is the Mage of Mind. Her role is different than your own, Daisy.”  


“I know... but...”  


“No “but”. It is how it is. Everyone of you plays their own game.”, Yoshisprite said.  


Daisy shuddered.  


“I... I just want...”  


She didn't finish her sentence, because in this moment, a bright light was blinding her and the sprites. A bright, blinding, brilliant green was erupting from the quest-bed. And suddenly, there were dragonflies. Hundreds of brilliant, blue dragonflies were flying straight to them, to Peach on her quest-bed. A few of them landed at Peach, blocking every sight of the body. But most of them swarmed around them.  


The light brightened, was pure white now.  
  


And suddenly, it was all over. The dragonflies disappeared, the light faded away. And Peach’s body was still lying lifelessly on the green slap of stone.  


And Daisy sunk to her knees, unable to articulate her mourning.  


That was, until she heard the sharp BEEP of her Gameboy Horror.  
  


**Peach:** _DAISY! What happened? I think I am on Skaia and... and something is different! EVERTHING is different! I... I think I_ _ascended!  
_

Daisy looked at the message, her face blank.  


**Peach:** _Daisy?_  
  


At first, she started with a giggle. Then there came the tears. And finally, she threw her head back and laughed and cried and didn't care what the sprites might think.

 

 

Daisys own ascension was a bit less dramatic. She just lay down on her quest bed. Brightly colored butterflies were flapping around her, since she freed them from their flower-like prisons. It was a good quest, she thought, helping these pretty creatures.  


She was looking straight upwards, into the sky of her planet. And she missed her home terribly.  


The poison that was killing her body was painless. It was a relief. But she hated to wait. It was just her luck to get poisoned by one of the monsters on her planet. Who even knew that the teeth of the Gumbas were poisonous and that the Imps and other monsters would gain this ability?   
  


It hadn’t even been an important fight. It just happened and she was lucky that she made it to her quest-bed in time.  


And so she was lying there, waiting for the end and the new start. A part of her wished Peach was there.  


But another part was glad she wasn't.

   
  


**Status Update Daisy:** BRB.

 

 

She awoke on the battlefield in Skaia, lying on a bed just like the one she died on. And she saw Peach in the distance, running towards her.  


Peach looked beautiful in green, Daisy thought. The mage-outfit was a long robe with beautiful little details stitched on it and the mind-symbol was glowing on her chest.  


“DAISY!”  


And then Peach was in front of her, hugging her and Daisy returned the gesture. Only now she felt that she was shivering.  
  
  


“Peach?”  


“Oh Gambi, Daisy! I am so glad that you are okay.”  
  


And she was. Really.

 

 

**Status Update Daisy:** FINALLY God Tier! Yeah, Baby!


	5. Chapter 5

It was a few days after that, when they met Mario and Luigi on the battlefield. Daisy was a bit surprised to see them as God Tier, too. But maybe she should have known. She smiled wildly as she joined them in the fight, punching an ogre in the face with her bare fist. (God Tier powers were AWESOME!).

 

Things were great for a bit. They fought together as it should be. Luigi and Mario hitting things with hammer and vacuum and feet and she hitting things with a racket and compressed space stolen from other places and Peach hitting things with her parasol.

 

It felt so nice. Being a part of a team. Being a part of THEM.

 

And then there was Luigi, looking at her and shouting her name, being genuinely happy to see her. And Daisy was happy to see him, too. She really, really had missed him. In the heat of the battle wasn't much time to chat or catch up. Daisy just took in how PINK Luigi’s outfit was (which suited him, strangely) how Mario was the time player, how both of them looked a bit tired and Luigi a bit haunted with rapidly moving eyes.

 

But then there was a black knight between them and Daisy had to concentrate.

 

And then the battle was over. They had time to talk. And to plan. Well, Peach did plan, because she was the Mind-player and had the first clue about what to do.

 

So she made a plan for them and they all went to do it. Daisy made a face. Breeding frogs. Even if she could do it with Luigi, it would be a drag.

 

But it was her duty as the space player, wasn't it?

 

 

**Status Update Daisy:** Frog-breeding with besty! ^^

 

 

Her time was running out. Peach knew that. The ultimatum Logos had given her was running out. And she wasn't any closer to bring a “mind” to the clockwork-beings on her planet or to master “real magic”. It seemed impossible. Whenever she had some sort of idea, like talking to them, encouraging them, explaining emotions to them, telling them stories and other things, organizing a party of them, teaching them “fun” stuff like games and other things... nothing stuck with them. Nothing changed them.   


There were as mindless and soulless as they were the first day and Peach grew more desperate with each hour that brought her nearer to the summoning of Logos.

 

“You stupid things! WHY WONT YOU JUST START LIVING!”, screamed Peach finally, tears streaming now freely from her eyes, while she kept her hold on the robot in front of her. “Give me a blink, a sigh, SOMETHING! JUST START TO BE SOMETHING! Please! Please...”

 

She let go, falling on her knees. The robot was just standing in front of her, looking at her. Peach looked back up, straight in its cold, lifeless eyes. Still crying, she began to smile, only a bit.

 

“Look at me.”, she said, bitterness heavy in her usually sweet voice. “Look at your fallen princess or queen or mage. I couldn't do anything. I... I can't do it. I can't give you life. I can't. And now all I can do is sitting here and crying and it's pathetic. But it is me, so take a good look.”

 

The robot started to turn.

 

“LOOK AT ME!”

 

Magic was crackling in the air. Her magic, that could only do so much to mechanical beings. Her magic, that couldn't help them. The robot stopped, looked at her and Peach could have sworn she saw pity in them.

 

“yOu DiD yOuR bEsT.”

 

The voice of the robot was overlaid with static, words sounding butchered, but recognizable.

 

“What?”, asked Peach, shocked. It was the first time a robot spoke to her.

 

“YoU dId YoUr BeSt. DiDn'T gIvE uP. YoU aRe StRoNg.”

 

“You... you think?”

 

“I...”, the robot stopped, seemingly puzzled. “I ThInK.”

 

And with these words he turned around, walking slowly away. Peach just looked at him, looked on as he disappeared into the village.

 

The clock struck midnight, the time was up. Logos was calling her into his Hall of Mind. She picked herself up, wiping away her tears. Even if she failed, she didn't want to face him like that. She looked back where the robot vanished.

 

After a minute of thinking she made her way to the Hall of Mind. She failed. But the game wasn't over just yet.

 

Because she had an idea.

 

 

**Status Update Peach:** Going to face the music. Turn the lights off.-

 

 

“So, the little princess has fallen, huh? The Mage can't do her magic anymore? I should have known.”, snarled Logos. “Can't do anything on her own. And as soon as I gave you a task for you alone, you are unable to do it.”

 

“... what do you mean with that?”, asked Peach.

 

“What I mean? You are stupid. And weak. You don't want to fight. You are just a little girlyditz who should just call her boyfriend to fight for you before you get hurt.”

 

“... do you really think so?”

 

Peachs voice was quiet. She was never loud, but now it sounded a bit smaller than usual. The green light from the enormous pillar behind her cast a shard shadow over her face. She still looked at the ground, blond hair glowing green in the light obscuring the view of her face.

 

“Do I talk stupid? Of course not. I KNOW that it is like that!”

 

“You are wrong.”

 

She didn't say it loud. She didn't have to scream words like this.

 

“What?” Logos was a bit put back by that. Normally humans should now scream and cry and plead.

 

“You are wrong. It's simple like that.” Peach did lift her head and in her eyes burned a fire Logos never saw before. “But don't worry. You are not the first. You are not the first to think so and I am quite done with all that.”

 

Slowly she made her way to her denizen, the green robe of her Mage costume flowing slightly behind her. Her steps were forceful. The click of her heels echoed in the silent room.

 

“You really think I am like that? That I am stupid and useless and weak?”, asked Peach, her voice vibrating with controlled anger. “You think I wasn't the one to guide a whole kingdom, to ensure safety for my people for decades, to fight along with my friends for my people, my kingdom, my WORLD?”, her voice had risen slightly. “You think I am too weak to protect the people dear to me? You think I am weak because I do rather heal than hurt? To prevent rather than to react and to build instead of to destroy? To hold back or back down because me fighting would only make things worse for my people?”  


Logos didn't know why he didn't stop her. He just stared at her coming nearer, his gigantic mind playing the same phrase over and over.  


She couldn't be strong. She was a weak little princess. A girl scared of being a woman. She couldn't be strong.  


“I'm not.”, said Peach, Magic crackling around her. She allowed herself a little smile. “You are wrong. And I'm not. To err is human. But not for a machine. But you did err. I may have failed but I can still do it right. I can help them. I know I can. But you, Logos the Clockwork-Mind? You can't.”  
  


Magic crackled and Logos felt himself falling apart, overwhelmed by his own mistake and the power of the Mage. He just had one question left.  


“What are you?”  


“I'm just me, Princess Peach.”, said Peach and let her power go.  
  


A green light erupted from the ground beneath her feet, pulsing and spreading along the thick pipes that were connected to Logos, spreading all over the world. And Peach poured more and more of herself into the light, raw magic, raw understanding, raw mind.

Sweat was beginning to form on her forehead. Breathing became harder and harder with every second.

Logos was screaming, but she didn't hear him. The green light engulfed the whole planet and she could finally FEEL.  


“You know what living things do?”, she asked, screamed against Logos and the howling inside her ears. “They THINK. And they DREAM! So they need to SLEEP!”  


And with one single stroke the spell was released, washed over the whole planet. And the robots fell asleep. For the fist time, they simply slept. Not recharging, not resting or rebooting.  


Sleep.  


And for the first time, they dreamed.  
  


Logos was broken, fallen apart, destroyed by the very things he always deemed too weak to be a threat for him. And alone in the Hall of Mind was Peach, looking down on his remains.

 

 

**Status Update Peach:** Logos has fallen. I have found my real magic.

 

**Daisy:** _Peach? How did you do that?_

**Peach:** _I realized what Logos meant with “real magic” and “blind faith”. It was not about be_ _lief_ _in something. It was about KNOWING that something will hap_ _pen_ _. About being sure about something. About making the decision to make something happ_ _en_ _. About my power as the Mage of Mind._

**Daisy:** _I... don't think I understand._

**Peach:** _You do not have to. It is okay. I am finished here. We will meet on Skaia when you are finished with the frogs, okay?_

**Daisy:** _Okay..._

 

 

Daisy vibrated with energy. Ever since the ascension she felt so full of unfocused power, begging to let out. It was just such a nice feeling to DO stuff. And it was even more fun to work through monsters with her friends.  


She had spotted a group of Imps and Ogres together with a few soldiers of the black army not far from the tower which doubled as a command center for them on Skaia. Unfortunately, Luigi was away with Mario, doing something, so there was only Peach.  


But surely, her best friend would have time for a bit fun, wouldn't she?  


So she came to Peach, who was hunched over maps and cards and was mumbling about strategies and movements and the Black Queen.  


“Peach? Hey, are you alright?”, Daisy asked.  


Peach was startled badly at that, whirling around to face her, eyes wide with shock, but as soon as she saw Daisy, she relaxed.  


“Daisy... Sorry, I didn't hear you...”  


“It's okay.”, Daisy said, smiling. “You seem to be deep into work. Wanna hang out and punch some monsters?”  


“I can't, Daisy.”, Peach said, sighing. “I have to work out some plan for attacking...”  


“Aww, come on. You have been here for days!”  


“Only two, Daisy. And this is really important.”  


“Come on, Peach! We just have a little fun with these ogres!”  


“Yeah, that is all you ever do.”, mumbled Peach. “Fun and play the whole day.”  


“What did you say?”  


“Nothing.”, said Peach but Daisy looked at her, not letting up.  


“Oh, no, no, no, no, Peach. I heard it quite clearly. Do... Do you think I am just a party girl like everybody else?”, she asked, the hurt in her voice only badly masked.  


“Well... you DO have that kind of impression on people, Daisy, but...”, Peach began, but Daisy interrupted her.  


“But nothing! Cut the bull with your proper language and manners, Peach, nobody here cares. What IS your DEAL with always looking at me like... like I am some kind of child who dragged mud into your living room, huh? Am I not snotty enough for you?”  


“I never said something like that!”, said Peach, feeling herself getting angry. “I just mean... you just don't behave like a princess.”  


“I don't WANT to behave like one! I don't want to BE a princess!”  


Silence.  


“I have it! I hate this stupid princess thing! I hate the dresses and the people around me. I hate that I can do NOTHING other than smile and wave. I can't even do sports in my land, because nobody ever will oppose the princess and it's just so frustrating and stupid!”, yelled Daisy. “I hate this whole thing and sometimes, Peach, I just hate YOU, because you know what I will hear ALL DAY IN MY LIFE? “Why can't you be just like Peach?” “Peach is such a good Princess” “You should spend more time with Peach, she knows how to be a good princess”! And I hate everything about it and everything about what you stand for, even if you are my friend and I love you, but this, THIS! I hate it so much and you know what the worst is? I begin to hate YOU and I don't want to. You are my friend but this whole thing just... just eats me alive!”, she screamed.  


Silence followed again. Daisy was still standing in front of Peach, chest heaving hard after her lengthy rant and still fire in her eyes. Peach really didn't know what to do. She just felt herself getting angry.  


“Do you think this is a game?”, she asked, voice strong and collected, even when she knew that she wouldn't hold herself together in the end. “Do you think I do this for FUN? Do you think I WANT to be this kind of person? I HAD to, okay? Do you even understand what responsibilities I have?” Her voice cracked. “EXCUSE me, if my whole life makes it difficult for you, but please don't take it to hard if I place the need of MY WHOLE KINGDOM before your hurt feelings!”  


“Don't you dare to make me the bad guy, here...”  


“I don't! I'm just STATING what is a fact! I have responsibilities. I have to care for my Toads and if you would care about your people you would know...”  


“My people are frigging JERKS!”, screamed Daisy. “They aren't like your Toads! Humans aren't... aren't like that. They even aren't like Mario and Luigi or you and they don't GET so many things because they are stupid. It's not exactly their fault alone, because they don't know better, but many of them don't WANT to know better so it is kind of their fault. They are jerks and they don't even know it! They say horrible things about you, about Mario and Luigi and your kingdom and my kingdom and about me and everyone they think is “different”, like Toads, Koopas, Beans, Yoshis, just about EVERYBODY and they DON'T STOP BEING STUPID!”, Daisy screamed, getting worked up more and more. “And they are so ignorant and even talk like “I don't want to be offensive, but…” but newsflash: They ARE. They are offensive, stupid and wrong and have no idea how hurtful they can be and feel so ENTITLED about what they are and dismiss everybody else as not important and get all huffy and puffy if THEIR feelings as slightly bruised. They are horrible and I can't stand them anymore!”  


Tears welled up in Daisy’s eyes and Peach looked a bit shocked at the outbreak of her friend. “I can't to this, Peach. I'm not you, I don't have this saint-like infinite well of strength and patience like you do. I can't DEAL with them anymore, I can't be their princesses. But they and my parents make me do it and I hate them for that. And I don't WANT to hate them!”  


Silence. Daisy was openly crying now, even if she did hold eye-contact with Peach, and Peach herself just didn't know what to do anymore. She just felt angry at Daisy, but she could sympathize, but on the other hand she really couldn't understand. Her Toads weren't like that.  


So she hesitated what to do, how to comfort Daisy and how to deal with her own anger. In the end, Daisy made the decision for her. She stood up and ran, away from Peach and from this conversation.  
  


And only Peach and her regrets were left.


	6. Chapter 6

It was pure luck that Daisy ran into Luigi and not into something more sinister and deadly than him. And she really literally ran into him.  
  


“Ow...”, said Luigi, rubbing his head. “Daisy?”  


“Oh... sorry.”, Daisy said, helping her friend stand. “I just... didn't see you.”  


“You... didn't seem to look very hard.”, he mumbled and Daisy just had to laugh. No matter how mad she was at Peach or her people or herself or the situation at whole, she couldn't be mad with Luigi.  


“Yeah... it seems like that... I'm sorry, sweetie.”  


She begun turning around, intending to leave and vent some stream elsewhere, but Luigi held her back.  


“Uh... you... seem upset. Want... to talk about it?”  


And Daisy considered. She smiled finally.  


“Yeah... I... I think it would be best.”, she said.  
  


Daisy sighed as they sat on the top of the tower, looking over the strange black-and-white pattern that the ground was made of. This day hadn't gone like she wanted.  


“Uhm... Daisy?”, asked Luigi beside her, his feet dangling over the rim of the roof.  


“Hmm?”  


“I just thought... you wanted to talk about things?”  


“Yeah...”, said Daisy. “It's just... not easy.”  


“Just try it.”, Luigi said, smiling, and waited for her to find the right words.  


“Did you ever... feel like everybody wants you to be something you KNOW you can't be, even if you try your hardest?”  


As soon as the words left her mouth she cringed a bit at them. Luigi just looked at her.  


“Sorry... I know. I just... I don't want to... to blame her...”  


“Peach?”  


“Yes. It's just... I'm so tired of... of these looks and words and then even SHE thinks they are right...”  


“She doesn't...”  


“Yes, she does.”, said Daisy, looking Luigi in the eyes. “I know. Maybe not like the others, but even she thinks I am not... not like I should be.”  


Luigi looked away. And Daisy was glad about that, because it was hard looking him in the eyes like this.  


“I did something.”, he begun after a while. “I had to because of the game...”  


Daisy looked at him, didn't interrupt and gave him the time to work through what he wanted to tell her.  


“I ended Mario’s Game. On his quest bed so he could ascend. And... I didn't tell him.”  


Daisy stared at him.  


“Why?”  


“Because I had to. But... that is beside the point. I... The worst part about this is... how I felt about it.”  


There was a pause.  


“I felt horrible and guilty and sick. But... I also felt joy. Because I could DO it and I couldn't help to think... about stuff in the past. And I knew that he could never do something like that. So I did it and felt proud because I could do what he couldn't, even if it was something horrible like that. And that is bad and...”, Luigi shook his head, while Daisy couldn't do anything but stare at him. “And I really don't want for you to feel like this with Peach some day, just because of... pressure. So... I can... only say, that you should talk to her.”  
  


“Luigi... are you okay?”, asked Daisy.  


He looked at her.  


“Maybe.”, he said. “Mario and I have begun talking and... I think we need to talk a lot more. After the game and about... many things. But... I... I think we can be okay. With time... But you have to fix things with Peach!”  
  


“I will”, Daisy said, smiling and hugging Luigi. “Thanks... it's just... feelings, you know?”  


“I know...”  


“And I don't know if I can speak with her right now.”  


“I know.”  


“Luigi?”  
  


“Yes?”  


“Do you really think that things can be okay?”  


There was silence for a while.  


“I think so. We can only try to make them okay.”  


Daisy sighed. He was right, she knew. And she did feel a bit better already, but she had the feeling that it would take more than a simple talk with Peach until everything was okay again. She didn't expect things to go back like there were before the game, but maybe they would be okay in the future.  
  


Looking at Luigi and the tired look in his eyes she hoped that he and Mario too would be okay some time.  


“Thank you.”

 

 

 

Daisy did not, in fact, talk to Peach that day. She WANTED to, but as soon as she was near Peach, she just couldn't bring herself to go to her. The fact that Mario was often with her, both of them talking about something, didn't exactly help the matter.  
  


And the only time she saw Peach alone was when she went to tend to the White King, delaying the end of his game a little more. Luigi did have some kind of a plan or talked about one, but whatever it was, it took time before they could do something. And as long as they weren't ready for the Black King, they would have to keep the White King alive.

   
Daisy saw the White Queen once and she wished she would never again. A Queen about to lose everything but willing to do it, giving everything up besides her duties...  


No, she freaked her out quite a bit.  


So, as far as Daisy was concerned, Peach could have one-on-one time with her as much as she liked.  


Night came and with night came sleep and with sleep came dreams. And with dreams came dreambubbles.  


Daisy just walked out of an old memory.  


Her shoes clicked on the fine floor, maybe it was marble or some other stone, but it didn't really matter for her. Behind her the king and the queen were still standing and talking.  


“...and we REFUSE to let you act like that, you are a princess, you have your responsibilities!”  


She kept on walking.  


“Just WHERE are you going, young lady?”, asked her father.  


“Out.”, was her answer and out she was. Out of the room, out of the palace, out of the memory.  


And her feet hit nothing.  


“AHHH!”  


She splashed into something and everything was wet and blue around her and the world became silent and calm.

Daisy forced herself through the water until she broke the surface, gasping for air.  


And she saw Peach, sitting in front of her at the shore of some sunny city. And she looked surprised.  


“Daisy?”  


Daisy swam to her while Peach stood up.  
  


“Peach, just sit down again.”, Daisy said as soon as she pulled herself out of the water.  


Peach didn't object, just sat down and kept staring at Daisy.  


“How did you get here?”  


Daisy sighed and flopped down beside Peach, not looking at her.  


“You know this is a dream, right?”  


“Yes.”  


“Well, that's how I came here. Dreambubbles."  


“But... why HERE?”  


“I don't know... I think this kind of thing is random...”  


Silence stretched between them, both of them looking at the water.  


“Where are we anyway?”  


“An island where I spent a vacation once... it was a disaster, but the beach was nice.”  


“It is a nice beach.”  


“I know.”  


More silence and Daisy looking away. Peach did probably too.  


“You know...”, Peach begun after a while. “This was the island, I...”  


“Peach, just stop.”, Daisy said, startling Peach. She looked at her shocked until she just slumped a little.  


“I am sorry...”  


“I'm too”, said Daisy, sighing. “I... I really didn't mean to... explode like that. And... I don't hate you. It was pretty unfair of me to make you responsible for things other people do.”  


“I pushed you quite a bit.”, Peach said. “I'm afraid, I am not as innocent as I thought I was in that matter... I am sorry I never considered your side of the story... or that there even was one...”  


“Not many people do.”  


“But I am your friend. I should have.”  


“Yeah.”  


The both looked at each other.  


“Are we still friends?”, came out of both their mouths, at the same time. And somehow that made Peach smile and Daisy giggle and then Peach giggled, too. That in turn prompted Daisy to laugh and Peach joined her.

They laughed together, and their laughter was a bit hysterical, a bit cracked, but none of them broken.  


Maybe everything would really be okay.  


Something moved at the edge of Daisy sight and she turned, while Peach was still giggling to herself. First, she couldn't find anything out of place. The shore was quiet, the buildings were standing but dark and there were no people outside except for them.  


But then she saw something behind the first row of buildings, something dark and shifting.  


“Uh... Peach?”  


“Yes, Daisy?”, Peach answered, still a bit breathless.  


“What is back there?”  


“Huh?” Peach turned around, looking at the darkness.  


“I... don't know.”  


They woke up before they could do any more.

 

 

 

Things weren't okay after that. Well, there were better, but still not quite okay.  
  


Luigi told them about his plan and they all went to the Land of Frogs and Flowers to manipulate the Genesis frog, a task that left Peach and Mario quite exhausted.  


Daisy saw how exhausted Luigi looked, but she went with him as he told her about his idea for a combination of their powers in battle.

It involved her ability to steal space for other people and his to use a whole arsenal of weapons. The result would be explosive and Daisy loved it.  


She noticed how exhausted Mario looked and how little he slept during that time. She noticed how Peach would wander around in the night instead of sleeping. She noticed how all of them didn't want to dream anymore.  


Unfortunately, they had no choice.

 

 

 

Daisy found herself at the same beach she and Peach spoke to each other last time and thought that Peach would be here. She wasn't.  
  


But there was still the black, shifting thing behind the first row of houses and she slowly approached the darkness. As soon as she thought that she would get a good look at the thing, the world tripped and changed, warped.  


First she saw nothing, could only hear. Screams and the blazing of a fire. Then there was the smell of burning wood. And then, there was light. Only a bit at first, only enough to give her surroundings shadows. Then more and more until she recognized Peach’s room in her castle.  


What was going on here?  


The screams were getting louder and Daisy could finally see a window. Outside was hell. Small meteors were coming down, burning and destroying everything in their wake. Shadows of Toads were running around, screaming and falling, their game ending before her very eyes.  
  


A whimpering sound got her attention.  


She turned around and saw Peach, back in her pink dress she normally wore, sitting on her bed and looking at the Alchemizer.

It had to be a memory just before Peach went into the medium.  


She slowly walked to Peach, unable to read her face which was still mostly covered by darkness.  


“Peach? Are... are you okay?”, she asked. “This... is that really a memory?”  


Peach looked up and seemed genuinely surprised.  


“Daisy?”  


And the scene around them disappeared, leaving them back at the beach.  


“I didn't expect you here...”  


“It's alright.”, said Daisy, still looking a bit disturbed. “Peach? Is everything alright?”  


“Hmm? Oh... I think so... I just...”, Peach said, sighing, looking away at the blue sea. “Just... thoughts...”  


“You are afraid, huh?”, asked Daisy. “About... the past or the future?”  


Peach shook her head.  


“The past is in the past. No... I'm worried about the future...”  


Daisy looked at her, still skeptical of what Peach said, but there was no use in contradicting her.  


“I think we all are afraid of the last battle...”, Daisy said slowly.  


“Well, who wouldn't be?”, Peach said, raising her arm in a gesture. “The Black King is a monster. Nothing like Bowser. Bowser is a jerk, but... he still cares about his minions and he cares about me, even in a totally wrong and twisted way. But the Black King doesn't care about anything. He just wants to win the war. It's not necessarily his fault. He was made that way, he is only a game construct, programmed to be the End Boss. He can't feel. Not really, not like we do. He can't sympathize. He doesn't have any empathy, not with us or with his own pawns. Why do you think they look like chess figures?”  
  


Peach was rambling, thought Daisy. She was rambling. But she would play along, because she had a feeling that Peach needed that.  


“But... but the pawns, they feel, don't they?”  


“I think they do. Or maybe THEY think they do. Even if they do, they do it not like we think. They have a purpose. They are game constructs, I am not sure if they even have a free will. Maybe even the King doesn't have one and they function all just with what they know, their programming.”  


“It's... sad.”, Daisy said.  


“And terrifying. It's an enemy that shows no mercy. No feelings. And has no other motivations other than being bent on destroying us. Ending our games. But...”  


“I do wonder... what is more horrifying? The enemy who won’t feel anything or an enemy who can feel, who knows and understands but will end games anyway?”  


“It difficult, huh... But it's not...”  


For a few minutes nobody said anything, just the slight noise of waves hitting the land were to be heard.  


“It's not what is on your mind, isn't it? What is it?”, Daisy said after a while, still looking at the ocean. “I saw the memory, Peach... the future terrifies us all, but you are thinking of the past.”  


“It's... my... my people.”, Peach said quietly.  


“Your Kingdom? The Toads?”  
  
“Hmm. They and... the ones that raised me. The... the former Queen of the Mushroom Kingdom. They were really nice, you know? Their game ended long ago and Toadsworth raised me after them, but they were so... lovely. And I always wanted to give my people the same love I got from them. 'We all have our game to play', she often said and I didn't really understand until later and I thought that she meant my role as a princess... But now... now we are in this game and...”  


“... they are all dead. Aren't they?”  


“Yes. Every single one of them. We could have saved some, brought some with us in the game, but they would have been in danger with no one to protect them and... who should I bring and who should I leave to their doom? So I made the decision.

They... they are all dead. Gone. Burned or crushed or worse and... ”, said Peach before making a strange noise between a sob and something else and Daisy could almost FEEL how Peach was trying to hold back her tears.  
  


“Peach...”  


“You know... I... I kinda understand Rosalina now, with her Lumas. A bit. She tried to explain to me why she did what she did and... well...”  


“Peach... what ARE you doing?”  


“I am pondering on the sanity of a mother, loosing everything.”  


“... what?”  


“My people, my little Toads... all of them are dead. I couldn't save anyone of them and even if we win this game and bring them back, I still fear it won’t be the same. Because I will still be responsible for their doom.”  


“Peach, you didn't kill them. The game had already started...”  


“But I did agree to it. I did agree to play this game and to the plan on how to play it. And even if it didn't matter... to be honest, I rather blame myself for playing this damned game than accept that fate itself deemed all of my little Toads as not worthy to save. I... I am the Mage of Mind. I deal with consequences of decisions. And I deal with my own regrets.”  


“Peach... there wasn't any decision to make. There were no responsibilities to take. It's hard, but there is nobody at fault here. The game itself doesn't care. You do, and that is beautiful and good, but it won’t change the fact that there was nothing you could have done. You can cling to this fake guilt and to your believe in your imaginary decision you didn't make, but it won’t change anything. You were a good princess. You would have been a good queen. And they did love you. What happened didn't change any of that and nothing could be done to change what happened.”  


“I don't think that I can accept this.”, Peach said quietly. “There had to be a better choice.”  


“There wasn't. And even if there was... it wouldn't have mattered. But Peach...”, Daisy laid one hand on Peach’s shoulder, smiling sadly. “We are still here. We have a chance to beat this game. And we will find a way to bring them back. With your powers as the Mage of Mind and mine as the Rogue of Space. We can do it, Peach. Don't worry. I will help you. Friends?”  


And Peach couldn't help but smile weakly at that.  


“Friends, Daisy. I... I will try. Thank you.”  


“Always, Peach.”, she said, smiling a bit and felt a bit lighter after seeing Peach smiled back at her.


	7. Chapter 7

 

The next days were monotone. Manipulate the Genesis frog. Training. Doing some minor quests on their planets and alchemizing better stuff.

Planning their last stand against the black army.

Peach always felt a bit light-headed whenever she thought of it. Talking to Daisy helped, a bit, but the fact that she was planning a battle was not quite sitting right with her. Especially against the black army.

She still made trips to Skaia, helping the White King survive and looking at the White Queen.

She still didn't know if she admired her or hated her.

“We all play our games...”, she mumbled to herself.

Only a few days left.

 

 

 

_The black King was the hardest enemy Luigi ever saw. He must have the high of a skyscraper, eyes impossible large and angry. He was angry at them, swinging his scepter, summoning monsters and commanding his own forces._

_He could see the terror in the eyes of his friends. It was the same he felt. They did so well in this game, but how were they supposed to fight this thing? It was hopeless, they were hopeless, how could they even BEGIN to think that they would stand a chance...  
_

“ _Luigi! Snap out of it, come on!”, cried Peach, punching a nearby monster, “healing” a decision. The monster fell down, unsure of what it should do. But many more were coming at her.  
_

“ _LEAVE HER ALONE!”  
_

_Daisy was by Pe ach’s side in an instant, t hrow ing her eye shadow like a ninja star. Ocean Blue Glitter exploded in the face of some other monster, sending it to the ground screeching.  
_

“ _Luigi, LOOK OUT!”  
_

_Mario was at his side, his microphone in his hand. Perfect timing like always. He swung his microphone against the head of the monster, attacking with force and the sound made by it. Red blood gushed out of its ears as it sunk to the ground._

_Mario turned to look at his brother.  
_

“ _Luigi, there is no time to space out. Remember the plan, okay?”  
_

_The plan. They had a plan.  
_

“ _Yes, yes, I remember. I just... can't get a good enough feel. I think he knows I am trying to do something and he sends me this... thoughts.”, Luigi said, holding his head. “And I have to focus really hard on him and... and can't do anything while I am like that...”  
_

“ _Please try again. We are holding them back, but you have to do this, you are our only chance!”  
_

_More couldn't be said, because a new wave of mutated monsters was attacking. Mario, Peach and Daisy were forming a barrier around him, shielding him. His Wrench of Shattering was discarded before him, useless for now._

_He closed his eyes. Trying to block everything out. The screams of the monsters, the shouts of his friends and his brother, the monotone wrrrrrrm of Marios mechanic leg whenever he jumped impossible high to reach some flying monster.  
_

_He was the Thief of Heart. He stole emotions and used them for himself. The monsters didn't have any emotions, or not any that he could use. But the King felt stron gly and even if some of his emotions were alien to Luigi, he was sure he could tap into it.  
_

_He was the Thief of Heart and he didn't steal just emotions, he stole parts of the very soul. And that was the plan. Steal bits and pieces of the black king, use them to work against him, slowly fighting him from within. Because there was no way in hell they would be strong enough to do so from the outside.  
_

_He saw it in front of him, the soul of the Black king. A big, black mass,_ _vapor,_ _not quite solid, not quite liquid. The souls of the monsters were little spiky shapes, fluctuating in colors and density. The souls of his friends were by his side. Mari_ _o’s_ _was bright and red and felt like a flame, a burning ball of determination. Peach_ _’s_ _was bright pink and gold and round, solid as steel and seemed untouchable. And Daisy_ _’s_ _was bright yellow and mint green, flexible and looked like it was dancing.  
_

_They weren't just protecting him in the real world, they were by his side even when he was doing his best to steal something from the black King.  
_

“ _Touching” his soul was pure horror. But Luigi grabbed at a little part with all his might, pulling and pulling and he could feel something giving way, something tearing...  
_

_There was a scream. A shout and his body was pushed to the side, something hot passing his body nearby and his concentration was blown to bits. Everything went dark and too bright shortly after, information from different plains of perception overlaying each other, before everything came back together._

_He opened his eyes, took a breath like he was drowning and breaking the surface of the water just now.  
_

_He blinked, trying to understand what had happened. He had ripped a piece from the Black Kings soul. It was still swirling around, but not connected anymore and quickly dyi ng. There were no monsters, they were all de ad , seemingly burned. Peach and Daisy weren't there anymore but he could feel their souls not to far away, they are still alive. And Mario...  
_

_Mario was on the ground in front of him, his mechanic leg broken and even melted in places. It was impossible to say if there was any blood with his outfit but it looked burned at places and ripped at others. But there was blood on Marios face. And he barely moved and this was so much like his nightmares since the accident...  
_

“ _MARIO!”  
_

_Luigi struggled to stand, his body still not fully under his control. He stumbled to his brother, falling on his knees as soon as he arrived, feeling dizzy and exhausted from this short distance.  
_

_Mario was looking at him, his eyes filled with pain and Luigi felt something inside him grew cold.  
_

“ _Mario... what...?”  
_

“ _He attacked... Peach and Daisy?”  
_

“ _They are alive, I think, only blown away... you...”  
_

“ _He was striking for you... did you do it?”  
_

“ _I tore a bit from him, I think I crippled his ability to summon the monsters... but... where is he now?”  
_

“ _I... I used... my power.. .time. Send him back... buying time... but...”  
_

_Now Luigi could see it. There was blood. Blood was seeping from multiple wounds on Mari_ _o’s_ _good leg, hip and abdomen. There was blood on his hands, sticky and warm and quickly turning cold. He took one of Mario_ _’s_ _hands and there were also cold. He looked at Mari_ _o’_ _s face, skin turning from red to pale alarmingly qu_ _ickly_ _and he could see the fear in Mari_ _o’_ _s eyes. And they both knew that nothing could be done._

_No. No. No. No. Please no._

_“Luigi... you... you have...”_

_“Mario... no... no, it should have been me... it should...”_

_“No... no... it's... okay... just... hurts...”_

_“I'm so sorry... I.. I never wanted...”_  
  
_“ Shh... Luigi... I... I know... just... just win this game and... and say Peach that... that I was happy, that she stayed with me when I couldn't go to PE...”_  
  
_“Nonononono... no last words, I can't...”_  
  
_“You can... just... just take care and END this and... and...”_  
  
_Luigi could feel tears in his eyes, seeing became harder and harder. He could feel Mari o’s emotions, fear and tread and HURT and his souls flickered before his very eyes. Luigi weeped openly now._

_“I... I don't want to die.”, said Mario, shaking, his voice broken and so quiet. “I don't want to... I... I still want... I couldn't... I... Luigi? Luigi, I am... I am so afraid...”  
_

_“I am there...”  
_

_Luigi cradled Mario in his arms, still crying over the broken form of his brother. “I am here.”  
_

“ _So cold...”  
_

_Mario was shaking and Luigi coul dn’t do anything. He never felt this desperate and crushed in his life, even after the accident, even after seeing Mario break down again and again when he couldn't walk, couldn't do sports anymore, couldn't do anything he did with ease every day before that.  
_

“ _I don't... want... to... to...”, whispered Mario. “Please... Luigi... please... stay...”  
_

It broke Luigi just hearing his brother like that.

“ _I'm here. I will stay with you.”  
_

“ _Th...tha... nks.”  
_

_Mario didn't say more than that, just pressing his eyes close. The warmth was leaving him pretty quickly and Luigi knew there was nothing he could do.  
_

“ _I don't want you to go.”, he said. “I'm... I'm so sorry. So sorry... I should have never... never started this damn game!”  
_

_Mario didn't answer, just looked at him fearf ully and Luigi bit his lips hard enough to draw blood.  
_

_No. No, he wouldn't let that happened. Mario was going to die, but he wouldn't let him go afraid.  
_

_His soul was bright and warm and still burning but the flame was slowly suffocating. He found the part that was fear and took it._

_It wasn't like anything he ever felt. It burned and was cold, so cold, cold, cold. And there were tears, now even more. He was so terrified. And he felt what his brother felt all t hese times: All consuming fear. Fear for himself, fear for Luigi himself, fear for Peach and Daisy who shouldn't even be here, fear for the whole world they left behind, billions of people seemingly dead. Fear of death, of the place their parents went so quickly. Fear of and for so many things.  
_

_Luigi held Mario still, trembling and crying, but he felt Mario relaxing a bit, sighing, looking at Luigi a bit clearer.  
_

“ _I...”, he said, but couldn't finish. There was blood on his mouth, blood in his lungs, breathing was so hard and there wasn't enough blood left inside him for his heart to pump. His heart was trying in vain to keep the little rest circulating but it was hopeless. His muscles contracted one last time, not managing the force to command his arms to hug his brother, but Luigi understood. One last breath. His eyes closed.  
_

“ _Mario? MARIO!”  
_

_And Mario died in Luigis arms. His death was deemed heroic for saving his brother. There wouldn't be any kind of resurrecting , and Luigi broke. Still clinging to Mari o’s body, he threw his head back and screamed , a scream of fear and hurt and pain and everything that was so unfair for them. He screamed for loosing his twin, for being the cause and reason for his demise. He cursed the game for being this unfair, for being this hard, the fate that decided that m ere teena gers should play this, should have th ese responsibilities , and he cursed himself for falling for it, for starting the game, for being so naive to think that he could make everything better.  
_

_He screamed for things never said, for the parents they lost, for everything that went wrong since then.  
_

_He screamed and cried and felt the fear he took from Mario wanting to go out like the rest of his soul. And in a split-second decision, he didn't let it. It was the last thing that was left of his brother. It was the only thing he had left.  
_

_So he couldn't let it go. Instead he hold onto it, storing it deep inside of him, holding it and guarding it, swearing that as long as he lived, he wouldn't let this last part of Mario die.  
_

_The Black King would pay.  
_

_Daisy and Peach would be here in a few minutes. The Black King would be here not long after that. He wouldn't let Ma rio’s last sacrifice go to waste . He would find a way, they would find a way to slay the king, to make him pay for taking Mario from him.  
_

_But for the moment, he still cried. He cried and mourned the death of his brother, of losing the one soul that was with him since forever.  
_

_Peach and Daisy would find him like this, still holding his dead brother, still weeping, still trapped in hurt and fear.  
_

_He would get better. He would put himself together, just one more time, just for them to slay the Black King.  
_

_And he would be the one who made the wish, the little part of Mario still burning in his soul. He would wish for the world to be like a game with extra-_ _lives,_ _without accidents and hurt and tragedies, a world where his brother could live and be a hero.  
_

_He wouldn't know he would le_ _av_ _e a part of him behind when the world remade itself. He didn't know he kept the little part of Mario for his own. He wouldn't know that this would curse and bless them at the same time._

_He couldn't have known that by doing so he would be afraid of everything for them both. He couldn't have known that this would open him up to other forces. He couldn't have known that this was what enabled him and Mario to sense each other, to feel where the other is and if there was something wrong.  
_

_He didn't know if Mario had forgiven him. He didn't know whether Mario died thanking his brother for being there for him or cursing him for letting him die.  
_

_He didn't know that he would have to play this game again and again, creating universe after universe, some good, some bad. He didn't know that he would loose parts of himself, bit by bit until his denizen would put him back together one last time.  
_

_He didn't know that he_ _would_ _attempt to break the game. Escape the circle. That one day he would set out to find his true happiness.  
_

“That is an interesting memory...”

“Peach?”

Luigi looked up to her, still in this Thief of Heart costume, still with Mario’s blood on him, but looking again like himself, not the other self he had been.

“I...”

“You don't have to explain. But... you did take a part from him?”

Luigi just nodded, looking to the ground. He heard Peach sitting down next to him and could almost feel her eyes boring into his skull.

“This... has this happened?”

“Yes. Before. This... this was the first game we played. The one where he died. And it was my fault.”, mumbled Luigi. He was only now noticing the tears on his cheeks. A hand came to rest on his shoulder. He looked up and saw worry on Peach's face.

“It wasn't your fault. The Black King... the game did this...”

“But it was my responsibility, I talked him into playing the game, I got us this far, I was the reason he got hurt. The game is just doing what it should do, but I made the decision and I made the decision to play for him.”, Luigi said, looking back down on his bloody hands. “And I doomed him with it...”

“It wasn't your decision that he would protect you from the black king.”, Peach said softly. “You know him, he loves you, he would do that for you any second. But even that is beside the point. Luigi, how OLD were you here? Fifteen? Sixteen?”

“Sixteen.”, Luigi said, still not fully understanding what Peach is meaning.

“Luigi, you were teenagers. Children who were tricked into playing a horrible game, forced to shoulder this enormous thing... it was entirely unfair for all of you.”, explained Peach. “You didn't had a chance and it was a miracle that you won.”

“But I...”

“No “but”, Luigi.”, Peach interrupted him. “It was NOT your fault. You may have played a part in what happened, but so did I and Daisy and Mario himself. And we were children who didn't knewbetter and from what I have seen you two were hurt pretty badly before all of that. Nobody expected you to make the best decisions. I should know, I deal with them.”, she said, a sad little smile on her face.

Luigi could feel his eyes beginning to fill with tears again.

  
“Do you really mean that?”

“Yes.”, Peach said, turning to face him and slightly holding his shoulders so he had to look at her. “I think so, Luigi. This memory is not something you should dwell in. You are my friend, one of the best people I know and also one of the kindest.”

“And you really forgive me... for starting all this?”

“Luigi, there is nothing to forgive. You didn't know. You couldn't have known. You thought you would help your brother with this game. You wanted the best for him and for us. You hadn't intended for all this. The only thing you could ask forgiveness for is for being a child in pain, not knowing what consequences certain actions would bring.”

Luigi still looked at Peach, his face slowly twisting from soul-crushing sadness to something resembling relief. And Peach saw him break and brought him closer, hugging him while he had his meltdown.

But she felt him smile. And a little bit she hoped for forgiveness, too. After all, they had a few things in common.

 

“ _Thank you.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to write some fluff. Instead this chapter was written. I still don't know how. XD
> 
> Well, this was our visit to the first session they played. I hope you all enjoyed this little trip to the far-gone-past. ^^


	8. Chapter 8

The next day was a whirlwind of things to do, things to plan. Daisy and Luigi were off to the Land of Flowers and Frogs, to bring the new Frog to the Forge. Peach didn't like to admit it, but the manipulation of the frog took a lot out of her and she saw that Mario wasn't faring a lot better, but there was simply so much to DO.  
  


The White King wasn't in any condition to plan anything, let alone an attack on the black army. So Peach found herself on the table in front of a map looking a lot like a chess field, planning a battle and the end of a war. Time was precious, even with Mario trying to help and speeding her up while slowing other things down.  


The White Queen sat beside her, telling her of strength and weaknesses of the numberless units and the Black King himself. There was a lot of bitterness in her eyes whenever she spoke of him and sometimes, when Mario sat besides Peach, offering her silent support, her look would turn so somewhat wishful.  


She would lose her King and there was nothing they could do against that.  


Maybe Peach should have protested more as she made the plan that would result in her own Game over. Maybe she should have talked her out of that, come up with something, ANYTHING better. But there wasn't a better option; she knew it and the pleading look in her eyes would haunt her for the rest of her life.  


Because she could relate. She would lose something that she knew she couldn't live without. Maybe it was selfish, maybe it was the way she was programmed. Maybe she knew her game would end as well as soon as the Black King was slain and the ultimate reward was handed to them. Maybe she even knew that they planned on breaking the cycle, to hack the game and deleting it from the new universe.  


Maybe she wanted to do one final thing that mattered.  


So Peach agreed to the plan and Mario would too as long she did.  


Just one more decision over Life and Death for her.  


“Did I make the right choice?”, she asked Mario later that day, sitting on the tower, looking over the battlefield and still waiting for Daisy and Luigi to come back  


“What do you mean?”, he asked her, puzzled.  


“The plan. Is... is it even a good idea?”  


Her mind was still filled with the memory she had seen in Luigi’s dreams. Whose plan had it been? Her own? Or of all of them? She meant the things she said to Luigi. It wasn't his fault. Not like he thinks it was anyway. She had beaten herself up enough alone over decisions and consequences already to allow one of her friends to fall into the same trap. But she couldn't help but wonder. It was her aspect, she should know best, shouldn't she?  


“I don't know.”, Mario said, sighing. “I'm... not very good at this, princess. Planning and thinking ahead. I jump into things and take things as they come. It works most of the times, but sometimes... they don't.”  
  


“The Mansion?”, she asked, recognizing the look in Mario’s eyes. If there was one thing she knew that haunted the mind of her friend, then it was this.  


“The Mansion. Most of the times I am the one to pay the price for my actions, but this time... I never wanted for Luigi to go through that.”, he shuddered. “... I saw in the Dream bubbles some stuff... and... it was worse than I thought and he even hinted that there was more and I... well... you know.”, he mumbled.  


“And you think just because of that you can't tell a good plan from a bad one?”, Peach asked.  


“No, not just because of that. I know myself, princess. I just really am not one to think about consequences. I try, really, since that night, but I am not very good at it. Even if time is my aspect, I can't see into the future or change the past, so I try to focus on the present. I can't do anything other than that. It's just not who I am. It’s similar for Luigi, he will never be rash like me in this case. We are different people and so are you and I.”, he stated. “So, I trust you with the strategies. Because I know you do a good job. A much better one I ever could. I don't like that the White Queen will... do that. But I respect her decisions like I respect yours.”  
  
Peach blinked, before smiling a bit. She took his hand, leaned a bit on him, so their shoulders were touching.  


“Thank you.”  


“For what, princess?”, he whispered.  


“For trusting in me even when I don't.”

 

 

Daisy and Luigi returned shortly after that. Daisy’s denizen had told them that the frog would need some time to mature.  


The frog would be released when their plan started. It will be mature shortly after that, so they had to slay the King until then. The time was ticking.

 

 

 

It was dark as Daisy found Luigi, sitting on the ground with a haunted expression on his face. He didn't look up as she sat down next to him and it scared her a bit so see her friend in so much distress.  
  


“Can't sleep, huh?”  


“No...”, he said, his voice small and trembling and Daisy was sure he was trying to hold back some tears.  


She didn't judge him. The game was crazy, messing with all of them and she was sure every single one of them had one or two breakdowns in the last days. Even without the... THING, as she was calling what happened to Luigi, it was too much to handle for a single person alone.  


“Want to talk about it, Sweetie?”  


At least she could try to be there for him.   


“I... I don't know.”  


Silence. Daisy looked at Luigi who still had his head on his knees, unable to look at her.  
  


“I... I had this dream again... I think I will have this again when I go to sleep.”  


“Which one?”

  
“From before. The... the first game I... WE played. The one where everything went wrong... And Mario died.”, he begun, his voice giving out at the last part.  


There was silence again, Daisy waiting for Luigi to say more and Luigi trying to sort trough his feelings and memories and broken, twisted dreams.  


“I did take his fear, you know?”, he started, his voice sounding hollow and far away and something inside Daisy becoming very, very tight and this sound.

“That was my power as the Thief of Heart. He was dying and I couldn't do anything. None of us was a life player, his death would have been heroic. Peach was a Sylph but couldn't heal something like that. Besides that, we were alone, you two were far away.

And... and he was afraid, I could see that. So... I did what I thought would be best: I said that everything would be alright, that I would make things right and stole his fear and kept it for myself. And I stayed with him until he died but his fear was still with me.  


I... I still have it. I couldn't let it go then because it... it was like the only thing I could keep from him. I thought that if I could keep just one thing of him alive, I wouldn't lose him completely. I just couldn't let go. He was afraid of many things and still is afraid, I couldn't take all of it and I feel it... it's like one more thing I messed up. And I don't know if he would forgive me for stealing a part of his emotions...”  
  


“I didn't know you could do that!”  


“I can't anymore. I WAS the Thief, now I'm the Knight. I can only use my own emotions to help others. To protect. And even if I could, I don't want to do it anymore. I just can't steal emotions from other people. That... that is very, very bad.”  


Daisy looked at him, saw silent tears she knew Luigi didn't want her to see and said nothing about them.  


“You know... I think you DID save Mario back then.”

  
“What? Didn't you listen? Because of me he died, because of me we even played this game and because of me so many worlds were doomed and I even stole something from him, just to be selfish!”  
  


“No, Luigi. You saved him. Yes, he did die but he could go without the fear and you stayed with him. You won the game and even if you did a mistake and created a world you didn't mean to... Think about how you created a whole lot of worlds instead of dooming them. Think about it as helping Mario. And it takes a whole lot of courage to hold on to the fear of another person in addition to your own. You have to be a very brave man, Luigi.”  


“I... I don't feel like that.”  


“I know.”, Daisy said, smiling a bit. “Because of that, you got me and the others. To remind you what a wonderful person you are, Sweetie.”  


And she grinned a bit at the sigh of Luigi’s cheeks coloring just a tiny bit. That was the Luigi she knew, still pretty much unable to handle praise. But it was okay. She was his friend and she knew Luigi needed this reminder from time to time. That he was just as important as Mario and a good person she was delighted to call a friend.  


“You know, you never told me what Peachy and I did in this old game...”  


Luigi smiled a bit, seeing right trough her attempt to change the direction of the dialog to something other than doom and gloom but answering her question.  


“As I said, Peach was the Sylph of Mind. Sylphs are like healers with or of their aspect. She had the power to, well, make decisions better. She came up with the battle plan against the Black King and helped us all after... after our Time player wasn't there anymore.

And you were the Seer of Space. You.. well... had a understanding of Space, sort of. You always knew where we should go. Without you we were lost in many, many labyrinths along the way. It was kind of the theme of our session: pathways, crossroads, decisions and so on. Without you and Peach, Mario and I would have been totally lost.”  
  


“What was Mario’s Power?”  


“He was the Page of Time. Pages tend to have the most potential, you know? It was like a cruel joke. I COULD be so much more, but he wasn't. Because... because of the accident. He had lost a leg and was pretty down and... couldn't do anything. We alchemized something together, so he could fly. It was beautiful, seeing him laugh again, you know?

So, he had a great potential to use time but he wasn't very good at time travel. He never could make that happen, but he was pretty great at time-management and had an amazing sense for timing.”  


“Sense of timing?”  
  


“Jup. Do you know what his strifespecibus was? Microkind.”  


“Microkind?”  


“A microphone. He... he told jokes with the perfect timing and the Imps just laughed themselves to death. He did hit the bigger ones with it or screamed very loud into it, but the jokes were the best.”  


“What about me and Peach?”  


“Peach had fistkind. It was all she needed. And you had make-up-kind. It was pretty deadly as much as I remember it.”  


“ME? Make-up-kind?”  


“Well, your lipstick tended to turn into a bat and your eye shadow could be thrown as some kind of ninja-star?”  


Daisy laughed.  


“Well, that sounds like me, all right.”  


“Yeah... she was you, you know. Not quite you, but... sometimes I still get it mixed up.”, Luigi told her, sighing to himself.  


“Were we dating?”  


“What? Why are you asking?”  


“I don't know? I just wanted to know it.”  


“I... I don't know? Maybe? I... I don't know.”, said Luigi, still a bit taken aback (and a bit red around his nose). “I mean... there... there was a lot of other stuff going on in the game and I don't remember everything...”  


“Hey, it's okay.”, laughed Daisy. “I was just a question. Chill, Luigi, okay?”  


“With you I am never sure.”, mumbled Luigi which made Daisy just laugh harder. Well, at least he didn't feel as down as before. Luigi smiled a bit. Daisy just knew what to say.  


„Okay, come now. Tomorrow will be a very hard day. Try to get some sleep, okay?“  


„I will try... thank you, Daisy.“  


„Not for that, Sweetie.“, she said smiling, kissing him on his cheek and laughing lightly as she saw him turning quite red.  


But Luigi did finally lie down again and after a while sleep overcame him again. Daisy smiled as she also went to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Daisy knew that this had do be a dreambubble dream. Because she hadn't dreamed of this for so long and she knew she went to sleep not long ago.  


She saw Mario fighting Tatanga.  


He was flipping through the air, a serious look on his face, while he threw fireballs and used the surroundings to find SOMETHING to act as a weapon against his foe. Daisy still found it a bit strange that someone like this little, plump looking plumber could be so agile in air.  


He defeated Tatanga, just like she remembered and came to her, still out of breath and slightly hurt, looking at her with weary eyes.  
  


“PLEASE tell me you are the real one.”, he said, just like the first time.  


Daisy couldn't help herself but laugh.  


“Well, I am as real as I get, maybe even realer than the one in your memory.”, she said, watching as Mario blinked, understanding dawning on him as he recognized the dreambubble they were in.  


“Oh.”, he said, looking behind him. “... it's been a long time since I even thought about this...”  


“Rescuing me?”, Daisy asked, still grinning. “I see, only one princess on your mind?”  


Mario made a face, sitting down, as the world around them dissolved and his wounds healing themselves.  


“No, the old times, when all I heard was “Sorry, but your Princess is in another castle”. It got annoying fast.”  


Daisy laughed, sitting down next to Mario.  


“Well, I can't say I can relate but I think I get the frustration.”  


They sat a while in silence, Mario’s eyes fixed on something in the far distance and maybe even not in the present.  


“Hey, are you okay?”, Daisy asked, not used to see Mario so out-of-focus.  


“Hmm? Oh... yeah, I think... just... the game, you know?”  


“Tell me about it... I just talked to Luigi, he was down about this whole thing too.”, Daisy said, sighing. “It is pretty messed up, huh?”  


Mario’s head snapped to her, worry in his features.  


“Luigi? What did he tell you?”  


“Huh? Just... stuff. About... well... the first game.”  


“I see.”, Mario said, looking down. “I shouldn't ask what exactly. We... we had a talk. About telling each other things like this. I made a lot of mistakes.”  


Daisy looked at him. The usually happy looking man in front of her seemed uncharacteristically down and meek.  


“You talked things out?”  


“Well... we have begun.”, Mario said, sighing. “There... is a lot to talk about. There is a lot we never talked about because we both were thinking that the past should stay were it is but it isn't as easy as that. I just never saw how affected Luigi was. I thought the nightmares were all there was. I really thought that they would pass and everything would be alright.”  
  


Daisy didn't know what to reply. She had seen first-hand just how much the past haunted Luigi, even if it wasn't really his own. It was good to hear that the brothers made a start at talking things out but by the look at Mario she could see that there would be a lot of talking in the future of them both. Pity struck her quite a bit.  
  


“I always envied you both, you know?”, she started, earning a confused look from Mario. “Luigi and Peach often wrote of their adventures, about danger and great stories, about how you all would do something to save the world or something... I always wanted that.”  
  


“You wanted what?”, Mario asked, still confused.  


“Adventures. The danger, the doing-stuff-part. You could say that I wanted to be a hero of the hands-on-kind you were. Well, maybe I kind of romanticized the whole thing a bit too much. But I always dreamed of being like you and Luigi, traveling the world, kicking butt and all the good part.” She sighed. “I never realized how... hurtful all this could be. And it's a bit isolating, you know? On one hand I never felt so alive and well... happy like the last days. But on the other hand, this game is seriously screwed up and messed with all of us more than we knew. This wasn't how I pictured being a hero...”  


“It never is.”, Mario said, looking to the ground. “Well, sometimes it is. Sometimes it seems so easy. Beating up Bowser, rescuing Peach, eating cake. But sometimes it isn't. Sometimes it is fighting for your own life, fighting to protect people you love, fighting fights you never wanted to start but are forced to finish, getting hurt, watching helplessly while people you love get hurt. Sometimes it means seeing things at the night or hearing laughter in every little creak and crack of the house. It means nightmares for days and weeks and months and losing sleep over things you thought you had left behind you and telling yourself that you are okay or that you will be okay and that you got over things until you almost believe it yourself. Sometimes it means making mistakes you can never make better.”

  
“That... is very depressing.”, Daisy said. “What is going on, Mario? I... I have never heard you talking like this.”  
  


“Nothing.”, he said, trying (and failing) to smile at her. “I... the game made me realize how many mistakes I made in the past.”  


“The game or Luigi?”, Daisy asked, eyebrow arched up.  


“Both. I just hope we will get through this. I don't want to lose my brother.”  


“You won’t.”, Daisy said, looking Mario right into the eyes. “I know you won’t.”

  
“How can you be so sure?”  


“Because he doesn't want that either. And he loves you just as much as you do.”  


Mario looked at her and finally she could see something like sparking happiness in his eyes.  
  


“If you say so...”  


“I do. And now come on. Maybe we find a better dream here.”, Daisy said, standing up, holding a hand out to Mario. He looked at her for a moment, before taking her hand and letting her pull him to his feet.  


“You are right. There has to be some good dreams around here...”  


“Lead the way, Plumber-boy.”, Daisy said, still grinning and feeling a bit lighter when Mario laughed and began walking with her to another dream.

 

 

 

Peach looked around her. Mario was standing beside his brother, both of them looking tired but not as down and stressed out as before. Daisy smiled slightly at her, encouraging her to begin.  


“Well.”, Peach began. “You all know the plan. Any more questions?”  


“We help the white army here, destroy as much as we can of the black one until the Black King shows up?”, said Daisy. “It's pretty straight forward.”  


“I know.”, Peach said, sighing. “The problem is, we know the King will be pretty strong.”  
  


“We faced big enemies together before.”, Mario said, smiling a bit. “We will defeat the Black King just as them.”  


“Yes, we will.”, even Luigi said, eager to end this nightmare of a game. “We came this far, we have the best weapons we could get, are all God Tier and completed our quests as good as we could.”  


Peach looked at them, a bit smiling, a bit surprised. “You did? I didn't know you faced Sol, Mario.”  


“I did.”, he said, sighing. “It wasn't fun, but... from what I heard I got away easy compared to you. My choice wasn't that hard... only accepting that my part isn't as big as my title implies.”  


“What do you mean?”, Luigi asked, but Mario just shook his head.  


“Nothing, bro. We will talk later about that. It wasn't fun but I am okay, my denizen is at peace and my planet is whole again.”  


“Okay, when you say so...”, Luigi said, still sounding doubtful but dropped the topic.  


“Good.”, Peach said. “Then... as Luigi said, we should have everything we need to win this fight. The White Army will start its last attack in exactly five hours. The Queen will be with them and with them ? the King. Mario? Did you...”  


“I slowed down time for him.”, he said. “But it won’t last forever. He has... fifteen hours, twenty-seven minutes and eighteen... seventeen...”, Mario counted, a blank look appearing on his face while he listened to seconds ticking.  


“Mario, stop it.”, Daisy said. “That is seriously messed up.”  


Mario snapped out of his counting, looking slightly guilty.  


“Sorry.”, he mumbled. He looked a bit relieved as he saw Luigi snickering to himself.  


“We get it.”, Peach said, sighing. “You and I did what we could. We have to slay the Black King in this time. Are you all ready?”  


They all nodded.  


They all knew each and every one of them were lying.

 


	10. Chapter 10

 

Fighting was hard. It was a messy business, even if enemies exploded into colorful gist and were only constructs of a game.

Peach swung her parasol, sending soldiers flying before opening it, concentration her magic through it. Her sleeping spell put a knight to slumber just before he could strike Mario beside her. He smiled gratefully at her as soon as he noticed, speeding himself up to defeat him in an instant.

She could see Luigi and Daisy in front of them, facing the army head-on. Luigi used vacuumkind at the moment to drain some bigger soldier while Daisy bashed a group of little soldiers. Mario seemed to see them, because he slowed down the bigger soldier so Luigi could drain him more while speeding up Daisy. Peach saw a battleship in the distance, but her magic reached just as far. It came down hard as the crew fell asleep, crushing some other battle machines under it.  
  


She felt something move beside her and saw a lower monster flying into the distance and Daisy was standing beside her, her racket in her hand. She felt a body standing back to back to her and from the feeling it could only be Mario, seeing as he was the shortest of the group. And then there was Luigi at her other side, still clutching his vacuum tightly in his left hand, but offering them all healing potion with his other.  


She smiled. They were a team. They would pull through.  


They beat the Black army shortly after that. There was only one thing standing in their way until they could go home: The Black King.

 

 

Daisy didn't get scared very often. She never had been afraid of insects or spooky environments. Height had never been a problem for her and she did have a reputation for being a dare-devil when it came to sports. If it was dangerous, she would do it.  
  


But as she saw the Black King for the first time, she was scared.  


He was tall and black and seemed to swallow the light around him. Nothing seemed to touch him. Nothing seemed to harm him.  


His massive wings seemed to span the horizon. The Fireflower petals around his head seemed to burn as black as the King. He still had the shell of a Koopa but at this size it looked a lot more dangerous. The Goomba teeth in his mouth were the only things that shone white. And on his head were two horns, intimidating and big. His feet were not visible as he faded in and out of the physical world.  
  


How were they supposed to beat him?  


She saw Peach beside her, looking tense and holding her Parasol like a lifeline. Mario was helping Luigi to get up from the ground, both of them looking tired.  


Daisy had never been so afraid before. And she saw the others were just as scared as her.  


But they had to do something.  


Daisy heard herself screaming before she registered that she had begun to run. She held her racket tightly in her hands, preparing herself to take the space, all things between things and pressing them into her attack. She noticed Luigi running beside her, feeling the power of Mario who allowed them to move quicker.  


The Black King screamed, fire began to rain down on them, reducing the rain around them to mist. Daisy fixed on one of the balls of fire, sprang and hit it with a mighty WACK. The fireball was flying back to the King, hitting him. There was a screech but the King didn't seem hurt. Mario was suddenly beside her, wacking with his hammer at the black Yoshitongue that came seemingly out of nowhere. Peach was running, holding her parasol like a sword and stabbed one of the little monsters the King summoned. And Luigi used his vacuum to suck up any parts of the King that became intangible.  


But it was just not enough.  


No matter what they did, nothing seemed to hurt the Black King enough. There was blood but the King didn't even seem to notice as Mario and Luigi took one massive arm of him down. Peach took out one of the wings of the King, while Daisy was sure she did crack the shell. But it didn't break all the way and the attacks of the King were getting stronger and stronger.  


She was gathering some strength while Mario was covering her as she saw something bright speeding towards them.  


“DAISY!”  


And suddenly Peach was there and the bright fireball hit Mario who crashed into them both. She and Peach were blown far back, Mario lying unmoving where he had fallen.  
  
She felt dazzled, dizzy, the rain mercifully putting out the flames. Peach beside her looked shocked, a few burn marks in her robe, but okay. And far, far away she could still see Luigi standing in front of the impossibly big Black King.  


She didn't understand, but through the rain and the ringing in her ears it sounded like he was talking.  


And then Luigi flung his weapons away until he stood in front of the Black King without anything that could protect him. And panic took over her mind.

  
“LUIGI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”  


“OH GAMBI GET AWAY FROM THERE!”, she heard Peach crying, struggling to come to her feet.  


She could hear Mario crying something as well, saw him fighting seemingly against his own hurt body as he tried to reach his brother in time.  


“I AM LUIGI. NOBODY ELSE. I AM LUIGI AND THAT IS ENOUGH!”  


Luigi’s voice cut trough the wind, the rain, the ringing in her ears. It cut straight into her and she stopped, looked on as Luigi sprang, as he did... SOMETHING and the lightning struck.  


She was running as everything was over, as she saw the Black King dead on the floor, and she and Peach reached the brothers at the same time, saw both how Mario pressed the unmoving body of his brother against him, blood all around them, rain and tears on his face.  
  


She didn't feel anything at that moment.

  

 

Mario was refusing to let go of Luigi. He had slung him over his shoulder and for Peach this was even a familiar sight.  
  


He had carried Luigi like that after he went unconscious after that horrible, horrible debacle that was the Chaos Heart Incident. And he did so too, whenever Luigi was knocked out when they had fought together against the dangers that lurked on Pillow Island, protecting his fallen brother from harm until he could heal him with 1-Up-Mushrooms.  


Peach dubbed that one of those would do any good now. Daisy was standing next to her, tears in her eyes.  


“And now?”, she heard her asking. “Is... is that it? We won! Luigi... he... he took out the Black King! Why is nothing happening?”, she asked, her voice sounding slightly shrill. “SHOULDN'T SOMETHING HAPPEN?”  


“The game is... loading.”, Peach said. “The frog is released. It... it will end soon.”  


“But.. .Luigi... shouldn't he come back?”  


“His death was heroic.”, Peach said, her face stoic at the sight of the body.  


“Just like that?”, Daisy asked. “Are... are you accepting this just like that?”  


“What choice do I have?”, Peach asked, still holding on to her collected state of mind. “He... he is gone... We don't have any options anymore...”  


“We have one.”, Mario said. His voice was barely there, just a whisper, just a shadow of his normally strong, loud voice. “The wish. The new universe. The ultimate reward.”  


“The... the reward?”, Daisy asked, looking at Mario with something like hope in her voice.  


“But... the warning.”, Peach said. “The game will twist our wishes...”  


“Not this one. We... we took it out, didn't we? You and I.”, Mario said, looking at Peach.  


Peach was looking at him. Looking at her fallen friend, looking at Daisy standing on the fine line between soul crushing sadness and fury.  


And in the distance she could see the teleporter, which would transport them to the gate to their new universe.  


“We just have to make our wishes so that we get what we want.”, Daisy said.  


“Peach, you deal with decisions...”  


And Peach looked at them, looked at her friends and the task before her and everything clicked. Her choice was never about the robots or bringing mind to things. It was about being confident in her ability.  


“Okay... I... I think I know how to.”, she said.  


And together they left the battlefield. Left Skaia. Left the Game.  
  


And in the new world which was just like the old, Luigi opened his eyes, staring at the smiling faces of the other three, not sure what had happened. There was laugher and tears and the group-hug that followed was only cut short by the pain of their injuries all of them had ignored up until this point.  


Peach would look back at this moment as one of the greatest glories in her life.

 

 

The world after all this, behind the door, was a nearly-perfect copy of the one they had left. Still, Peach had a lot of work in front of her. Even if the changes were minuscule, she had to know. So, she had to go over a lot of records, talk to many people.  


She was the princess, after all.  


There was time for the parade, for the proclamation that Luigi did rescue them all. There were a few confused Toads, asking were Mario was. There were even more who demanded to know the full story, there were letters from Sarasaland, asking about the role Daisy had played in all of that.  
  


But Peach decided that there would be time for that later. Her kingdom and her dear friends came first.  


And when Mario asked her to join her for coffee, leg still in a cast but mischief in his eyes, she was more than thankful for the distraction. After all, she wasn't JUST the princess. She was more.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the end of this story and boy, was it a ride. I had a lot of fun writing this and there WILL be an other epiloge-like thing like the last time. It will be shippy again, so it will be standing on its own like the last one. And after THAT there will be most likely some oneshorts. It's just to much fun playing with alternative Universes and the likes. ;) We will see.
> 
> And I'd like to thank all of you and hope you had a great time with this story.


End file.
